Tailed Beast Fist Squadron Strike Rangers
by Rider Paladin
Summary: Crossover with Power Rangers and Super Sentai. A "Naruto raised and trained outside Konoha" fic that asks, "What if Naruto was trained to harness the Kyubi's power as a Power Ranger?" Includes Gaara, femme!Haku, Yugito, and Kirabi. Pairings uncertain.
1. Fist of the Beast

"Bijuken Sentai Retsuranger"

"Tailed Beast-Fist Squadron Strike Rangers"

Chapter 1: "Fist of the Beast"

Disclaimer: Naruto is the intellectual property of Masashi Kishimoto and the licensing property of Viz. Power Rangers is the intellectual property of one Haim Saban, but the licensing properties go to Disney as of 2003; before then, Saban was in charge of the direction of the PR franchise. Super Sentai, the Japanese source for Power Rangers, belongs to Toei. I make no money from this story and I do not get special sneak peeks at new incarnations of Power Rangers or Super Sentai as compensation. On that virtue, I don't get a special sneak preview of the English dub of Naruto Shippuden as compensation for my efforts here. No, my goal is simply to write a story that you will hopefully enjoy.

Author's note: This is a crossover of Naruto and Power Rangers, with elements derived from the latest PR entry's Japanese equivalent Gekiranger. This is an A/U for both series, in the sense that this is basically a "what if Naruto was raised outside the Hidden Leaf?" fic, only Haku, Yugito, Gaara, and Kirabi are along for the ride. The Power Rangers elements are largely based on the three most recent PR series – Jungle Fury, Operation Overdrive, and Mystic Force – with Zordon representing classic PR and overseeing the whole thing. I'll make it clear just how everything happened in this universe.

* * *

A brown-haired boy in his late teens stood protectively in front of a small blond boy, separating him from the angry mob from which he'd been fleeing. The older boy wore a purple vest jacket with a claw mark emblazoned on the left breast over a long-sleeved black shirt and black pants. His blue eyes blazed with anger at the bloodlust he could smell from the villagers toward the boy he was protecting.

"I hope you're aware," he began with a calm he did not truly feel, "that this is a little boy you've been trying to kill. I hope you feel ashamed, because you should."

"That is no little boy!" a villager yelled.

"That's a demon!" another shouted.

"He killed our Fourth Hokage!" a third yelled.

"He killed my child!" a fourth shouted.

"He killed my wife!" a fifth hollered.

"He destroyed my house!" a sixth roared.

The older boy looked at the smaller boy. "Is all this true?" he asked rhetorically.

The smaller boy shook his head with fear. "No. I don't know what they're talking about. I never did anything to them!"

"Liar!" a seventh villager screamed.

The older boy turned to the angry mob, a smile on his face. "There. He's innocent. Just a little boy, like any other, with the same hopes, dreams, and fears as any. Whatever your grudge with him . . . he is not the one to blame for your sorrows."

"You're in league with the demon!" a villager yelled.

"Kill them both!" another suggested.

Just as the villagers were about to attack, the older boy whispered to the younger, "Don't be afraid." He held up his index fingers and thumbs, spread his hands far apart, and channeled violet energy through those hands. The energy took on the shape of a wolf that quickly forced the mob to disperse. "This is me in a good mood. Don't make me upset. You wouldn't like me when I'm upset."

The small boy had seen the entire thing, watching as the older boy had unleashed some kind of violet spirit wolf to attack the mob. "What is that?"

"My wolf spirit," the older boy replied. He turned to the mob. "I'm taking this boy away from this place. Maybe when I bring him back here for a visit, you'll all have learned a little lesson in humanity."

* * *

The next day, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, sat at his desk, staring at the astral form before him. "Am I to believe what I am seeing here?" he asked sardonically.

"A ninja must look underneath the underneath," the astral form, glowing white energy shaped very much like a human being, answered. "Is that not the lesson you've spent so long teaching your pupils and would-be successors?"

"Yes," Sarutobi admitted. "But that doesn't explain what you want with Naruto Uzumaki."

"The boy's father was doomed to failure from the very beginning," the astral figure stated sadly. "He wanted the boy to be seen as a hero for the use of his body as a prison for the entity that nearly destroyed your village. Unfortunately, humans – and other sapient life – fear what they do not understand, and what they fear, they ultimately hate and seek to destroy. Your own efforts to protect him, as noble as they were, were also doomed to failure from the very beginning, and now it is out of your hands."

"Naruto is still . . ."

"Naruto's future is in this village, but he will not be able to make it there with this village so determined to destroy him. That is why he is now under the protection of the Order of the Claw. He will learn more from them than he will from your ninja at this point."

Sarutobi hated to admit it, but the astral figure had a point. The villagers would take a long time to accept Naruto, and with Naruto as a constant reminder of what they had lost that day, it was no surprise that they had been so quick to turn on him. He sighed sadly. "Will I ever see him again?"

"In ten years' time."

"May I inquire as to your name?"

The astral figure began to fade away, his visage growing dimmer and dimmer until he was entirely gone. However, just before his presence faded out completely, a deep, reverberant voice spoke. _**"Zordon."**_

* * *

In Kirigakure, the Village Hidden in the Mist, a young dark-haired girl trudged through the snow, dressed in tattered rags that did nothing to keep her warm. She stumbled once, but righted herself and continued her lonely walk. She was an orphan, for two very important reasons, the more important one in the villagers' mind being that she was a "demon," or rather, the container of a demon. The more important reason in her heart was that . . . she was a freak. A monster with a bloodline limit, one inherited from her mother, who'd hidden it from her father . . . and her father had murdered her for it. The girl would have died, too, had she not instinctively used the power within her blood . . . and the monster sealed within her . . . to kill her father and the allies he had gathered to him.

Now she was alone. Absolutely and completely alone, and there was nary a person around who'd give her a warm meal, a cup of hot chocolate, or even a warm bed to sleep in for the night. She would have to fend for herself, as she had grown accustomed to ever since that forsaken night.

"You look lost," a gruff male voice remarked.

The girl turned to the source of the voice, a man with long blond hair and a full goatee dressed in sharkskin leathers, a pair of swords at his side. "I'm not lost, sir. I simply have nowhere to go."

"Then why not come with me?" he asked, his voice softening.

"Are you going to hurt me, sir?" the girl asked.

The man looked taken aback. "No. What makes you think I'd do such a thing?"

"My own father tried to kill me," the girl answered. "How am I to know you won't do the same?"

The man sighed sadly. "I'll tell you my name, and you'll tell me yours, and we'll take it from there. Ok?"

"Ok."

"I'm Finn. What's your name?"

"Haku."

* * *

In Sunagakure, the Village Hidden in the Sand, a young redheaded boy looked at the corpse of the man he had long believed was his only friend. Except he wasn't his friend; he never cared about him at all. In fact, he had despised him from the very beginning! It had all been lies, all his talk about love and loyalty . . . nothing but filthy lies!

"Hey," a voice greeted him.

Without thinking, the boy lashed out with the sand that surrounded him, intending to crush the newcomer to nothing. However, that never quite happened, because a glowing sword that vaguely resembled a rhino's horn sliced through the sand as though it were wet tissue paper. The boy looked at the wielder of the sword, a teenage boy with close-cropped blond hair and broad shoulders. The older boy wore a white-and-black jacket with orange highlights and black pants and he was looking at the younger boy with a sad expression.

"I know what it's like. For people not to understand you, not to even try to understand you. Just resenting you because of the way you are."

"You don't know my pain," the redheaded boy snarled.

"True," the blond boy replied. "But I know what it's like to be rejected, even when you're trying to reach out to people. There's a place, though, where you won't have to go through all that. There's a place where you can learn to control the power slumbering within you, without letting the power control you."

"What do you know about power?" the smaller boy asked.

"Plenty," the older boy answered. He smirked for a moment. "You wanna see?"

The smaller boy harrumphed. "Show me what you have."

The older boy chuckled and unleashed a white energy from his body that took the shape of a stampeding rhino. The smaller boy blocked with his Sand Shield . . . and both the shield of sand and the spirit rhino were demolished in the collision between the irresistible force and the immovable object. The smaller boy looked at the older boy with a dawning respect.

"Where did you get such power?"

"Fighting for what's important to me."

"And what is important to you?"

The older boy smiled slowly. "My friends."

"Who are you?" the younger boy asked.

"Dominic. You?"

"Gaara . . . of the Sand."

"Why don't you come with me, then?" Dominic offered, reaching out to the younger boy.

* * *

The next day, the Fourth Kazekage found himself staring deep into the "eyes" of a burning bright astral figure. "What have you done with my son?"

"You don't treat him like a son," the astral figure answered simply. "You treat him as a weapon, as a tool to help your village keep its supremacy. Isn't that what you sealed that sand spirit into him for? While his mother was still pregnant with him? Your wife?"

"She understood . . . she understood what she had to do for this village," the Kazekage growled.

"She cursed you. You and this village that would do this to her and her son. And thanks to your foolishness, Gaara could very well have become the very incarnation of his mother's curse. That won't happen now; he will grow up in a place where he can learn to control his inner beast and not be shunned for it."

"What right do you have? I am the Kazekage!"

"And I am the guardian of the Universal Morphing Grid, a power that extends far beyond what you think yours is."

The Kazekage snarled. "Who are you?"

The astral figure faded from the Kazekage's sight, but his presence did not completely vanish. Before it did, the Kazekage heard a single word: _**"Zordon."**_

* * *

In Kumogakure, the Village Hidden in the Clouds, a young blonde girl with catlike slanted eyes wandered through the neighborhood, ignoring the harsh stares pointed her way. She continued to the market, just wanting to get some food and herbs and get out quickly. She knew the villagers didn't like her, and the sooner she could get what she came for and go back home, the better.

Unfortunately, it was not to be, as someone tripped her. She fell to the ground, looking up at the one who had tripped her, an older boy surrounded by a gaggle of friends with matching sneers on their faces. The girl snarled internally; that boy wouldn't feel so tough if it wasn't for his brainless friends. One on one, she bet she could take him down.

"Awww, is the baby demon gonna cry?" the boy mocked her.

The girl glared up at the boy, slowly rising to her feet. At that moment, she was kicked in the stomach. "Demons should stay on the ground," the boy who had kicked her sneered.

"Leave her alone," a deep, serious voice ordered.

A shadow loomed over the girl and the boys that were picking on her, prompting them to look up and see a young man with long dark hair and dark eyes burning with rage, dressed in a black leather suit with the underarms cut out. "And who's gonna make us, mister? You?" one of the boys asked.

That boy shortly found himself chopped in the throat, causing him to cough and hack and gasp for breath. The other boys began to back away from the girl, not wanting to chance a fight with the leather-clad stranger, who was now gazing upon the observing villagers with scornful wrath. "You were willing to stand there and watch while those boys picked on a defenseless young girl? Did you not do anything because you were afraid? Or did you not do anything because you hated her?"

"You don't know who she is!" a villager was finally brave enough to shout.

"It doesn't matter," the stranger snarled. "She was a defenseless child . . . and you would have left her to the mercies of those boys. I may not know who she is, but I know who you are. Filth. And I am not going to allow this girl to be sullied by you."

By this point, an angry mob had begun to coalesce. The stranger merely smirked and radiated a literal aura of black-and-gold energy, one that formed into a black lion with a golden mane and rushed at the nascent mob, forcing them to disperse or be torn apart. The spirit lion dissipated, its job done, as the stranger looked at the little girl. "What is your name?"

"Yugito. Yugito Nii."

"I'm Kurojishi Rio."

* * *

The next day, the Raikage was glaring at the brightly glowing astral figure before him. "Do you realize what I could do to you for this?"

"Do you really think we would harm Yugito?"

"She is a citizen of Kumo!" the Raikage answered.

"But she is not under your direct authority, as she is not a ninja," the astral figure countered.

"She is a Jinchuriki! Her safety is my top concern!"

"If it were . . . you wouldn't let the villagers brutalize her the way they have. Were it not for the intervention of the Order of the Claw, Yugito would have been severely harmed, if not killed, and your villagers were willing to stand by and let it happen. I am sorry, but I cannot entrust her safety to you."

The Raikage glared at the astral figure, his expression only slightly softening. "Will she be safe with you?"

"Yes," the astral figure promised. "We will keep her safe. We will train her. And we will give her a place where she can be free of persecution for what she carries inside her."

"Who are you?" the Raikage asked.

The astral figure suddenly vanished, like a flash of lightning. But there was a distinctive mark of his visit, an ornate "Z" scratched into the Raikage's desk. He heard a deep, reverberant voice speak one word, and that word was . . . _**"Zordon."**_

A little later, a tall, muscular boy with white hair styled in cornrows, darkly bronzed skin, and a tattoo on his left cheek resembling a bull's horns came in. "Lord Raikage, you summoned me. Is there something you want me to see?" the boy asked in a rhythmic tone.

"Kirabi," the Raikage answered. "I want you to go to Daijugakure."

"The Village Hidden Among the Great Beasts? Yo, you want me to make them my feast?" Kirabi inquired in that same rhythmic tone.

"No, I want you to watch over Yugito," the Raikage answered. "Make sure this 'Order of the Claw' means nothing but the best for Yugito. Also, I want you to make sure she knows something of our ways and our combat styles."

"Sure thing, Raikage, my man. I'll make sure the Order of the Claw doesn't do anything to Yugito-chan," Kirabi rhymed.

The Raikage groaned. "Sometimes, brother, I don't know why I bother with you."

"'Cause I'm the greatest," Kirabi answered, still in that rhythmic tone. "And you know better than to rage like a sadist."

"Whatever. Just go and find Yugito."

"Sure thing, big bro. Maybe while I'm at it, I'll find some hoes."

The Raikage glared, prompting Kirabi to leave. Once Kirabi was gone, the Raikage looked at the "Z" engraved onto his desk. "Whoever the hell you are, Zordon . . . you'd better take care of Yugito."

* * *

Daijugakure, the Village Hidden Among the Great Beasts, was a village simultaneously surrounding and inhabiting the jungles where beasts dwelled. Its ninja practiced a unique form of summoning, where they forged a harmony with the spirits of the great beasts and unleashed those spirits to attack their enemies or harnessed those spirits to augment their extant physical and mental capabilities. Daiju-nin were reputed to be as stealthy as jaguars, as fast as cheetahs, as cunning as wolves, as strong as tigers, as mighty as lions, as sneaky as chameleons, as powerful as rhinos, as agile as sharks, as perceptive as bats, and as unstoppable as elephants.

There were five unique residents of Hidden Beast, five who had sealed inside them the spirits of the most powerful beasts in the known world. These beasts were of an otherworldly nature, raw spiritual power molded into physical forms. Their living prisons were Naruto, the holder of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox; Haku, the holder of the Three-Tailed Demon Turtle; Gaara, the holder of the One-Tailed Shukaku; Yugito, the holder of the Two-Tailed Demon Cat; Kirabi, the holder of the Eight-Tailed Ushi-Oni.

At this moment, a 15-year-old Naruto Uzumaki was sparring against his sensei R.J. The older man fought in a style resembling Muay Thai, using his elbows and knees to attack Naruto. Naruto fought in a style resembling capoeira, only extremely chaotic. Fortunately for R.J., his style was not the most predictable, either, which made things interesting for both of them.

Naruto hooked his leg around R.J.'s ankle on a sweep and twisted to trip him. R.J. simply landed on his hand and twisted into a low kick that Naruto barely evaded. Naruto twisted on his hands and launched himself into a kick that R.J. blocked with both forearms crossed. Despite that, the force of Naruto's kick pushed R.J. back some distance. Skidding to a stop, R.J. looked up at Naruto with fire in his blue-gray eyes.

"Time I stopped holding back on you," he said.

"Likewise," Naruto answered. "Now . . . whose spirit is stronger? The fox or the wolf?"

R.J. chuckled. "We'll see. Unleash the Violet Wolf!"

"Unleash the Scarlet Fox!" Naruto answered.

Both R.J. and Naruto unleashed their beast spirits, R.J.'s wolf and Naruto's nine-tailed fox charging at each other. The violet wolf went into a spinning attack using its tail as a slashing weapon. The nine-tailed fox threw itself into a buzzsaw-like attack with all nine tails as slashing weapons. The two beast spirits collided against each other, only for Naruto's fox spirit to ultimately prevail.

"That wasn't even the worst I could have done," Naruto remarked.

"Likewise," R.J. agreed. "Guess I lied about not holding back on you."

"Same," Naruto answered.

"Say, you wanna get a drink of water?" R.J. asked.

"Sure, I could use one," Naruto answered, wiping the sweat off his hands on his black pants. He went to a corner of the training room and picked up a red-and-black jacket with the symbol of the Order of the Claw on the left breast and a red spiral on the back. Donning the jacket, but leaving it open to expose the black shirt underneath, Naruto walked over to R.J. "I wonder how Haku and Yugito are doing."

"Oh?" R.J. asked teasingly. "Foxy boy got a crush?"

Naruto glared crossly at him. "I don't tease you about the cheetah. Don't tease me about Haku and Yugito."

"You're really serious about those two, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"Well, you can either figure out which one you want more, or you can try to pull some kind of weird harem thing where you get them both, plus a few other girls. That actually might be interesting."

Naruto scoffed. "Please. How am I going to get a harem? And what would I do with one, anyway?"

* * *

Near the Hidden Beast River, a 17-year-old Haku fought Finn, his swords clashing with her combat needles. While he was better at close combat than she was, she was faster than he was and better at ranged attacks with her needles, which kept Finn off balance. It also helped that she could harden the ambient water vapor into a multiplicity of ice needles that flew at Finn, who blocked them to the best of his ability with his swords.

"You could stop holding back," Finn suggested.

"Are you sure about that?" Haku asked gently. "I do not wish to do you any genuine harm."

"This old shark can take it," Finn answered. "Or are you scared?"

Haku growled and performed one-handed seals for her signature technique, largely a product of her bloodline limit. This technique created a dome full of mirrors formed from ice surrounding her and Finn. Once that was done, she stepped _into_ one of the mirrors, seemingly fusing with it. Soon enough, her image was reflected in every mirror.

"Remember, you did ask for this."

Finn smirked and combined his two short swords into one larger sword. Channeling his shark spirit through the sword, he managed to slice one of the mirrors, but Haku had used her multiple reflections to attack Finn with blinding speed. By the end of her blitz, Finn was trying to catch his breath.

"Not bad, Haku," Finn remarked. "But I think it's time you experienced the full power of the Shark technique."

"I would like to experience this power," Haku invited.

Finn separated his swords and channeled his shark spirit through both, generating slicing waves of water that cut Haku's mirrors but did not destroy them. "What do you think?" he asked with a smirk.

Haku answered by going into another blitz attack using her multiple reflections. Finn countered with his Shark Saber techniques, but Haku was able to deflect by manipulating the water droplets into ice needles that flew at Finn with incredible speed. Finn blocked the ice needles to the best of his not-inconsiderable ability, but Haku's speed rendered such a near-impossible task.

"Are you finished?" Haku asked.

"No," Finn replied, unleashing his shark spirit in its full, undiluted form and turning it on Haku, who didn't seem all that worried. Bracing herself, she summoned her own beast spirit, the Three-Tailed Demon Turtle, to attack Finn. The two beast spirits did battle, with the Three-Tailed Demon Turtle ultimately proving victorious over Finn's shark spirit. "Not bad."

Haku smiled. "Thank you, sensei."

* * *

On the beach of the Hidden Beast Village, a 15-year-old Gaara and Dominic fought, Dominic's punches putting cracks in Gaara's sand armor. Gaara was giving as hard as he got, though, his crushing sand attacks battering Dominic when his own fists weren't sufficient. Dominic jumped back from Gaara and his sand, his white aura burning brightly as it formed into the shape of a rhino and charged Gaara. In return, Gaara infused his sand with the spirit of the One-Tailed Shukaku, forming a physical replication of the chakra beast that charged Dominic's rhino spirit.

As had happened in their first encounter, the collision of the two beast spirits resulted in the dissipation of both, with sand flying everywhere from the Shukaku replica's disintegration. To Gaara's surprise, Dominic charged through the sand with his eyes tightly shut, a spirit-formed sword at Gaara's throat.

"Yield," Dominic demanded lightly.

At that moment, Dominic found sand creeping up his legs, while sand fused to Gaara and hardened into armor. "I don't think so," Gaara whispered.

"Touché," Dominic acknowledged.

"A stalemate as always," Gaara mused. "Why is that?"

"We're used to each other," Dominic surmised. "Unless one of us did a completely out-of-nowhere technique, it'd always be a stalemate. Not that I mind. I like our spars."

Gaara let the sand armor break off him, revealing his smiling face. "I like them, too, Dominic-sensei."

* * *

Deep within one of the jungle forests of Hidden Beast Village, an 18-year-old Yugito and 25-year-old Kirabi stood before Rio and Mele, the masters of the lion spirit and the chameleon spirit respectively. Rio wore his usual combat outfit, a black leather suit with attached shoulder guards. Mele wore her standard combat outfit, a green cheong-sam, and her dark hair was styled in two curled braids. Kirabi was dressed in his usual baggy gray outfit, while Yugito wore a blue mandarin-collared shirt and black pants.

"Are you ready to begin?" Rio asked.

"We are," Yugito replied.

Rio's aura flared black and gold before solidifying into lion-themed black armor that also turned his hair wild as a lion's mane. Mele's form shifted as well, into a chameleon-like green armored body, and she drew a pair of sai.

"Yo, yo, what's up, my homies? This treat's on me!" Kirabi rhymed, before unleashing the Eight-Tailed Ushi-Oni's power, which wrapped around him in the shape resembling its true form. Next to him, Yugito unleashed the Two-Tailed Demon Cat's power, which wrapped around her as blue fire and took the shape of its true form. Both former Cloud-nin prepared for battle with the now-armored Rio and Mele.

Rio and Yugito fought, while Kirabi took on Mele. Kirabi might have had raw power on his side, but Mele took pride in being like the chameleon whose spirit she harnessed – fast, stealthy, and cunning. Rio and Yugito found themselves almost evenly matched; Yugito's intensity and skill were a formidable counter to Rio's power and ferocity.

At the climax of the fight, all four unleashed their beast spirits upon each other, the spirit lion and spirit chameleon taking on the burning blue nekomata and the massive bull-like demon. In the end, the conflagration destroyed a good portion of the jungle forest in which they'd been fighting. Yugito looked at the devastated area with a sigh and then punched Kirabi in the shoulder.

"You ox!"

"Well, yeah, I'm the jinchuriki of the ox, so you'd better back off my rocks," Kirabi retorted.

"I am going to _hate_ explaining this to Master Mao," a powered-down Rio groaned.

"We'll just tell him it's Kirabi's fault," a similarly powered-down Mele suggested.

Kirabi shook his head. "Man, I'm just being who I am. Y'all need to stop hating, damn!"

* * *

Now, the five Tailed Beast jailors stood before Master Mao, the Zyukage, or Beast Shadow, of the Hidden Village they had called home for ten years. "It's been ten years since you were brought to our village. Ten years, and you have learned much of the ways of Juken. You have found the inner strength, the determination to protect what you hold dear, that serves as your drive. You are in perfect harmony with your chakra beasts."

"I was already in harmony, but thank you very much for the honey," Kirabi rapped.

Master Mao smiled tolerantly. "You're welcome. The Hidden Leaf Village is hosting this year's Chunin Exams. I feel the four of you that are still genin will do well, which is why I've signed you up."

"Grandpa Zyukage, the Chunin Exams must be taken in teams of three," Naruto said. "Won't one of us have to stay behind? If so . . . it's gonna be a hard decision. I want to enter the Chunin Exams, but I don't want any of my friends to be denied their chance to become chunin."

Master Mao smiled. "As always, Naruto, your caring heart shines through. However, you're wrong. None of you will have to stay behind, as I am introducing two additional genin to join you. That will require you, though, to split into two teams."

"Who will these extra genin be?" Haku asked, garbed in her usual attire of a white battle kimono over a mesh body stocking and tight long black shorts for the purpose of preserving her modesty.

At that moment, three others stepped into the room. Two were male and one was female. The older male was R.J., garbed in his standard purple battle vest over a black shirt and pants with a purple bracer shaped similarly to a wolf's head on his left wrist. The younger male was about Haku's age, and had long dark hair that, along with his black outfit, complemented his pale skin. The female was closer to Naruto's and Gaara's age, with suntanned skin and aquamarine hair. Her outfit could be described as a cropped white top and white miniskirt with a longer fishnet top and long fishnet shorts underneath.

"R.J., Karasu, Renge," Master Mao greeted.

Naruto, Haku, Gaara, Yugito, and Kirabi looked at the Wolf jonin and the two students accompanying him. "Are these the ones?" Gaara asked.

Renge was the living prison of the Seven-Tailed Isonade, sealed into her at birth at the behest of the leaders of Takigakure, the Village Hidden in the Waterfall. The villagers had ultimately refused to acknowledge her as one of their own, seeing her as nothing more than an incarnation of the monster that had terrorized their home. In that respect, she was not much different from Naruto, Haku, Gaara, Yugito, or even Kirabi. Like those five, she had been saved from her deprived existence by an agent of Daijugakure, namely the Blue Mystic Wizard, a water elemental magus who had also acted on behalf of the Mystic Mother, the reputed source of all good magic.

Karasu was the wielder of the spirit of the raven and was a born resident of Daijugakure. While not a Tailed Beast jailor himself, he was strong enough in his control of the raven spirit to fight Gaara and Yugito, and maybe Haku if he pushed himself hard enough. As for his personality, he could almost be seen as a younger, darker version of R.J.: amiable enough in person but seemingly disinterested regarding the concerns and worries of everyone else.

"Yes," Master Mao replied. "R.J., you will be the jonin overseer of Naruto, Haku, and Gaara, Team Arashi. Kirabi, you will be the jonin overseer of Yugito, Renge, and Karasu, Team Raiden."

"What's that you're wearing on your wrist, R.J.-sensei?" Naruto asked.

R.J. held up the wolf-shaped bracer on his left wrist. "A morpher. It energizes my wolf spirit in a way that armors my body and augments my combat prowess, while allowing me to channel my wolf spirit in other ways. Speaking of morphers, I have presents for you. Catch!"

Naruto, Gaara, Haku, Yugito, and Renge caught strange black oblong bracers with what appeared to be circular slots at the point where the straps would wrap around their wrists. As for Kirabi, he got what looked like a cross between a belt buckle and a high-tech cell phone with a circular screen similar to the slots on the five genin's new bracers. When Kirabi flipped the device open, it revealed a numerical keypad.

"These are morphers? We might as well get some twofers," Kirabi rhymed sardonically.

"Not done yet," R.J. answered. "Catch!"

The six Tailed Beast jailors caught what appeared to be golden medals with black frames that had multiples of five engraved in them like a combination lock. Each individual medal had the engraving of an image resembling his or her holder's unique Tailed Beast spirit. "Wow . . ." Naruto uttered.

"Understand that in accepting these gifts, you also accept the responsibilities inherent in them," Master Mao stated.

"Responsibilities?" Renge asked.

"Yes," Master Mao affirmed. "You are the latest generation of a force that has existed for countless eons, a force dedicated to the protection of the innocent, the preservation of justice, and the defeat of those who would enforce iniquity. You are . . . Power Rangers."

Gaara looked at R.J. "Are you a Power Ranger?"

"Yes," R.J. replied. "And that relates to the other reason we're going to the Hidden Leaf Village."

"And that would be?" Yugito prompted.

"Dai Shi, the Infernal Dragon, has found a way to escape from his imprisonment," Master Mao explained. "Doubtlessly, he will have taken a human host, someone whose heart is full of anger and hate and the desire for vengeance. Dai Shi will nurture those desires, amplifying the darkness in this human's soul until his host's humanity is completely hollowed out, leaving the host as a mere shell for Dai Shi to control and ultimately be reborn through."

"Who's Dai Shi?" Naruto asked.

"The Ten-Headed Infernal Dragon, the most powerful of the beasts," Master Mao replied. "Even more powerful than the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, but his imprisonment has weakened him. If you strike now, while he is relatively weak, you may have a chance to defeat him. If he is allowed to regain his full power, I fear for this world."

"Attach the medals to your morphers," R.J. instructed.

The six obeyed, and a clamp from the side of the bracers the genin used secured the medals to the bracers. As for Kirabi, his medal had internal clamps securing it within the screen-slot on the top part of the morpher. "What do we do with these?" Haku wondered.

"Turn the dials on your morphers all the way to zero and use the call, 'Beast-Fist Strike Change!'" R.J. instructed. "Once those conditions are met, your morphers will use the power of your Tailed Beasts to forge a connection to the Universal Morphing Grid, the source of all Rangers' powers. You will have eons of warrior knowledge hardwired into your cells, enhancing your abilities by a factor of ten while armoring your bodies."

"That's incredible," Haku murmured.

"Yes, but you cannot use this power recklessly," Master Mao interjected. "It is only to be brought out against the strongest and deadliest of foes."

"We understand," Naruto said.

Karasu looked at R.J. and Master Mao warily. "Why didn't I get a morpher?"

"Those morphers are designed to work with the chakra of their Tailed Beasts," R.J. replied. "If I gave one of them to you, the feedback would tear you apart from the inside out."

Karasu silenced himself, although fuming on the inside.

"We won't let you down, Grandpa Zyukage," Naruto vowed. "That goes for all of us."

"Then from this point forward, you are the Tailed Beast-Fist Squadron Strike Rangers," Master Mao declared.

"Or . . . Power Rangers Beast-Fist Strikers," R.J. added. At the glances Master Mao and the newly minted Rangers gave him, he just smiled. "For something a little more fun-sounding."

* * *

End Notes: There you have it, the first chapter of Strike Rangers is finished. For the record, the Japanese and English titles are rough translations of each other, and just so you know, the Rangers will not be identified by color; distinguishable by color, but not identified by color. If you're wondering about the new characters introduced, R.J., Finn, Dominic, and Master Mao come from Jungle Fury, while Rio and Mele come from the Sentai original of Jungle Fury, Gekiranger, and serve as the basis for main antagonists and later allies Jarrod and Camille. Karasu and Renge are more or less original characters, although Karasu is based on the Karasu of Yuyu Hakusho in terms of appearance, albeit with a less apparently psychotic demeanor. Renge technically is the Takigakure ninja who was the Jinchuriki of the Seven-Tailed Beast, but as nothing much has been revealed about her save her appearance, I've taken it upon myself to elaborate on her character. The Blue Mystic Wizard that rescued her is technically canon, in the sense that his team preceded the "modern" Mystic Force Rangers, although whether he's alive or not in canon is another thing.

If you're wondering who Dai Shi's host is going to be . . . you'll see in the second chapter, but I think the criterion "full of anger, hate, and desire for vengeance" for possession by Dai Shi should give you a good clue as to the identity of that host. For the record, Dai Shi is also from Jungle Fury and serves as the impetus behind Jarrod's antagonism toward the Rangers, having possessed him for most of the series duration. In his true form, he is a ten-headed dragon, like was said at the end of this chapter.

All right, then, enough talking from me. Now that the Beast-Fist Strike Rangers have been given their morphers and marching orders, how will Naruto deal with being back in the village that scorned him as a child? Will Gaara encounter any faces from his past? And who is Dai Shi's new host and to what dark purpose will that host be manipulated by the Infernal Dragon? For the answers to those questions and others, read on for the next chapter and let me know what you thought of this one.


	2. Enter the Crimson Dragon

"Bijuken Sentai Retsuranger"

"Tailed Beast-Fist Squadron Strike Rangers"

Chapter 2: "Enter the Crimson Dragon"

Disclaimer: Naruto, Power Rangers, and Super Sentai belong to Masashi Kishimoto, Viz, Disney, and Toei, not me. Furthermore, I receive no material compensation from writing this story, just satisfaction that you've read (and maybe enjoyed) this.

Author's note: The second chapter of Slayer Rangers is kicking into high drive. Here, you will see the other forces behind the Rangers' deliverance to Daijugakure, and you will get your questions as to the identity of Dai Shi's host confirmed. If you're wondering about Haku being a girl, well . . . his gender is rather ambiguous, anyway, but as long as I'm going with him being apparently female . . . you'll get a bit of a surprise there. Now, let's get on with the story.

* * *

As the two teams of prospective Daijugakure chunin left the village, Master Mao was in conference with two armored men. One wore black armor with silver accents and a strange ruby in the center of his chest, while the other wore robe-like golden armor and possessed glowing green eyes. They were the Phantom Ranger, guardian of the planet Eltar, and the Sentinel Knight, guardian of the Corona Aurora. Both had fought alongside Ranger teams in the past, and now both of them would watch over this newest set of Rangers.

"The Beast-Fist Strike Rangers have learned much under your guidance, Master Mao," the Phantom Ranger stated in his soft, almost whispery tones.

"But will that be enough for them to stand against Dai Shi?" the Sentinel Knight added in his deeper, more commanding tones.

"That is also a concern of mine," Master Mao acknowledged. "Another concern of mine is Karasu. He is resentful of not being given Ranger status alongside his teammates."

The Phantom Ranger held out a golden pendant resembling a three-pointed claw with an amethyst in the center. "This is a Spirit Amplifier. It serves much the same function as a morpher, only it directly harnesses the power of the user's spirit instead of merely using the spirit to forge a connection to the Morphing Grid. Using this, Karasu will be able to fight alongside his comrades, even if he cannot be called a Ranger."

"How will you get it to him?" Master Mao asked.

"Leave that to me," the Sentinel Knight answered, as the Phantom Ranger gave him the Spirit Amplifier.

"Would the Spirit Amplifier have any relation to your particular transformation method?" Master Mao inquired of the Phantom Ranger.

"Yes," the Phantom Ranger admitted. "It is based on the ruby that empowers me."

With a nod to the Phantom Ranger, the Sentinel Knight teleported away, carrying the Spirit Amplifier. The Phantom Ranger turned to Master Mao and asked, "Do you think your students will fare well against the other candidates for chunin?"

"I'm more concerned about them not revealing themselves as Rangers in the process," Master Mao admitted. "That aside, I am confident that their skills as ninja will see them through. Despite that, I do worry for Naruto . . . these exams are taking place in the village of his birth, which was not the kindest to him in his formative years."

"He will do fine, Master Mao," the Phantom Ranger assured the Zyukage.

Master Mao simply nodded. "You may go now, Phantom Ranger."

The Phantom Ranger nodded, before seemingly vanishing from sight. In reality, he had turned invisible and slipped out of Master Mao's office, leaving the old master to ponder this latest turn of events. He did not doubt that if Dai Shi was not stopped soon, it would mean the end for humanity.

* * *

About midway through the Strike Rangers' trip to the Hidden Leaf Village, Karasu was confronted by the golden figure of Sentinel Knight. "I have something for you," the ancient warrior said, extending the hand holding the Spirit Amplifier.

"Is this a morpher?" Karasu asked.

"Somewhat similar in principle, but it taps your own strength, rather than borrowing power from another source," the Sentinel Knight replied. "It's called a Spirit Amplifier. Channel your raven spirit into it, and you will gain incredible might and fighting prowess."

Karasu took the pendant and hung it around his neck, slipping it into the collar of his outfit for concealment. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," the Sentinel Knight said, and vanished again.

* * *

Elsewhere on the ship that transported the Strike Rangers, Naruto stared curiously at the morpher on his wrist. So absorbed he was in examining the morpher that he failed to notice Haku coming his way until she was practically on top of him. "Still can't believe it, can you?" she remarked.

Naruto looked up sharply, but relaxed when he saw it was Haku. "Sorry. You startled me, Haku."

"I should apologize," Haku stated. "I did not mean to startle you."

"What do you think about this whole Ranger thing?" Naruto asked.

"Anything that enables me to defend those who are precious to me is a good thing," Haku replied.

Naruto smiled. "I agree with you, Haku."

"Yo, yo, isn't that some romantic stuff right here? Let's hope Naruto isn't queer," Kirabi rapped, utterly ruining the moment.

"Do you mind?" Naruto asked.

"Nope, don't mind at all. Looking forward to the throw-down, y'all?" Kirabi rapped.

Gaara glared at Kirabi. "You might wish to stop."

"Why's that?" Kirabi asked. "You got a problem, eat my hat."

Gaara's glare hardened. "A simple warning among comrades."

"Sure, sure, whatever," Kirabi answered. "Hope you're not under the weather."

As soon as Kirabi and Gaara had left, Haku turned to Naruto. "Are you going to be all right?" she asked.

"You mean returning to that damned village?" Naruto deduced. "I'll live."

"Will you live well, though?" Haku wondered.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the two, Yugito was watching them. "Jealous?" Renge asked her.

"No," Yugito replied.

"I know a jealous woman when I see one," Renge insisted. "And you are jealous."

"Don't you have a fish to catch?" Yugito sneered.

Renge smirked. "Maybe green will be your color. You certainly are envious enough for it."

Yugito bit back an angry growl as she watched Renge saunter away. She told herself she was not jealous of Haku's closeness to Naruto Uzumaki. She told herself she did not desire to be in the Hyoton user's place at this particular moment. She told herself her eyes were not focusing on Renge's sashaying hips. Wait, where in the hell had that last one come from?

"Yo, yo, Yugito!" Kirabi greeted. "What's the deal, yo?"

"Kirabi-sensei, do you mind?" Yugito asked, irritated.

"No, no, no, Yugito!" Kirabi replied. "Just wondering if you're aching for some Naruto!"

Yugito glared. "Kirabi-sensei, do you mind if I kick your ass right now?"

"Hey, wait, calm down a bit, shortie," Kirabi admonished. "Let's not get all warty!"

Yugito growled. "Like I told Renge, I am not jealous and I do _not_ desire Naruto Uzumaki."

"Keep telling yourself that, honey," Kirabi remarked sardonically. "Maybe you can get rid of that little snow bunny."

"Why am I not kicking your ass right now?"

"Because you love me. I'm your shinobi sugar daddy!"

"Will you just go?"

"Sure, sure, Yugito! Just remember, you gotta speak up if you want Naruto!"

Yugito groaned in something resembling agony. Of course, spending as much time with the constantly rhyming Kirabi as Yugito did could be considered a form of torture or abuse. Fortunately for her, Kirabi had left, leaving Yugito alone in her "secret to everyone but Renge and Kirabi" observation of Naruto and Haku. She shook her head softly, thinking to herself that she was acting like a foolish little schoolgirl instead of the hardened kunoichi that she really was.

* * *

When they reached the gates of the Hidden Leaf Village, they were confronted by the ninja guarding those gates. "State your names, village of origin, and purpose for coming."

"I'm Robert James, jonin of Hidden Beast Village," R.J. introduced himself. "I've brought my genin here for the Chunin Exams taking place in this village."

"Representing Hidden Beast, this is Kirabi," Kirabi rapped. "Got my genin here for the exams, and we'll sting like the bee."

"Naruto Uzumaki, genin of Daijugakure," Naruto introduced himself. "Here for the Chunin Exams."

"Haku Hyoren, genin of Daijugakure," Haku introduced herself. "Here for the Chunin Exams."

"Gaara Sabakumo, genin of Daijugakure," Gaara introduced himself. "Here for the Chunin Exams."

"Yugito Nii, genin of Daijugakure," Yugito introduced herself. "Here for the Chunin Exams."

"Renge Nitokawa, genin of Daijugakure," Renge introduced herself. "Here for the Chunin Exams."

"Karasu Kuronin, genin of Daijugakure," Karasu introduced himself. "Here for the Chunin Exams."

"Show your passports," the ninja instructed.

The eight Hidden Beast ninja obeyed the gate guardian's instruction, showing him their passports. The guardian waved them through, allowing them to pass upon verifying for his own eyes that the passports were not counterfeits. Once inside, R.J. turned to Naruto and asked, "How do you feel about being back here?"

"I just wonder if anybody's gonna recognize me," Naruto answered.

"They probably won't," Gaara said. "Human memory is funny like that."

"We should probably go to where the other genin are meeting," Karasu whispered.

"Good point," Kirabi said. "R.J. and I will get to the Hokage's joint."

"Speaking of the Hokage, I wonder if the old man's still in the position," Naruto mused.

"He might be, he might not be," R.J. responded airily.

As the two teams of Hidden Beast genin and their jonin supervisors moved through the village, Naruto was surprised at the frankly appreciative looks the girls and young women of the village were giving him. He wasn't the only one getting those looks; Gaara, Karasu, and R.J. were also getting appreciative and not-quite-furtive stares from the females of the village. However, Naruto did miss the glowers Haku and Yugito aimed at those girls who were eyeing him, Haku's cold like ice and Yugito's like the fires of hell.

R.J. didn't miss those glowers, though, and allowed himself a smirk. Beside him, Kirabi rapped, "I was right, for Uzumaki she's tight."

"Yeah," R.J. agreed slowly. He turned to the genin. "You know where to go, right?"

"Yeah," Gaara replied.

"Then Kirabi and I will go to Hokage Tower," R.J. said. "You'll go to the meeting place for the genin taking the Chunin Exams . . . and not dilly-dally too long."

"Yes, R.J.-sensei," Haku answered.

* * *

With R.J. and Kirabi on their way to see the Hokage, Team Arashi and Team Raiden went their separate ways. As Naruto, Gaara, and Haku walked down the pathway, they spotted five people, two of whom appeared to be in dire straits. Three of the five wore metal bands that marked them as ninja of Sunagakure, Gaara's birthplace and former home, and two of those three were female and appeared to be Haku's age. One of the girls was a teal-eyed blonde with her hair in four spiky ponytails and a large iron fan on her back, and the other was a dark-eyed brunette in a dark brown short dress with fingerless gloves and thigh-high black boots. The boy was dressed in what appeared to be a black suit with a cat-eared hood and his face was adorned with purple tribal makeup.

The cat-suited boy currently had a much younger, much smaller boy by the scruff of his neck, the boy having dark hair tied in a high and spiky ponytail and dressed in a yellow shirt and blue scarf. There was a pink-haired teenager, wearing a band that marked her as a Hidden Leaf shinobi and dressed in a mandarin-collared red shirt and pink skirt over black short shorts; she was demanding that the cat-suited Sand ninja let go of the smaller boy.

Naruto clenched his fists, angered at the disrespectful treatment of the child and the girl. He silently walked over to the distressing tableau, radiating menace as he did so. "It'd be a good idea to listen to the lady," he murmured.

"And who's gonna make me?" the cat-suited boy taunted. "You?"

Naruto smiled, but it was not a beneficent smile. No, this smile was full of promises of broken bones and scalded flesh. "Yes."

"Still the bully, huh, Kankuro?" Gaara's voice spoke from the tree above them. In fact, when they turned to look at him, he was balanced perfectly on the underside of the lowest tree branch, doing a headstand while using his chakra to seal his feet to the branch.

The cat-suited boy, now identified, looked up at Gaara. "Who the . . . _Gaara?_ Where the hell have you _been?_ Everybody in Suna thought you were dead!"

"Is that what Father told you?" Gaara asked sardonically.

"Gaara, where did you disappear to?" the blonde asked.

"Somewhere I could learn to control the beast within me," Gaara replied. He let a small smile form on his face. "How have you been, Temari?"

"We missed you, Gaara," the blonde, now identified, answered.

"I'm sure you did. Frankly . . . I missed you, too."

"Anyway, you mind letting the kid go?" Naruto asked Kankuro. "I don't feel like beating the crap out of you so soon. Need to save my strength for the real tough guys."

Kankuro immediately released the young boy, turning on Naruto, only to be cowed by a small release of murderous intent from Naruto. "I catch you . . . doing anything like that again . . ." the red-clad blond boy threatened. ". . . and I'll shred you like the paper tiger you really are."

Trying not to let on just how unnerved he was by Naruto's threat, Kankuro just said, "Whatever. Come on, Temari, Matsuri. We gotta get to the meeting spot."

As soon as the Sand Trio was gone, the pink-haired girl turned to Naruto. "Thank you . . ."

"It wasn't any problem," Naruto answered with a shrug. "I just can't stand bullies."

The girl looked at the metal band covering Naruto's forehead, specifically eyeing the three-pointed claw symbol engraved in the center. "What village do you come from?"

"Hidden Beast," Naruto replied. "My friends Gaara and Haku are from there, too."

"I'm Sakura," the girl introduced herself.

"I'm Naruto," the red-clad blond offered. "Where's your team?"

"I'm meeting up with them at the place where they told all of us genin who were taking the Chunin Exams to meet," Sakura replied.

"Mind if I walk with you?"

Sakura smiled. "That wouldn't be a problem. Thank you, Naruto."

As Sakura, Naruto, Gaara, and Haku walked to the building where the prospective chunin were supposed to meet, Gaara noticed Haku shooting glares at Sakura. Whispering in Haku's ear, "You can't glare at everyone who shows Naruto some interest. It's very, I must say . . . unbecoming."

Haku turned a dark stare upon Gaara. "I don't like her."

"Dislike her all you want, she hasn't done a thing to hurt you or Naruto so far," Gaara murmured.

Not much more was said between Gaara and Haku after that exchange, but Sakura and Naruto were getting on quite well, much to Haku's consternation. The good times seemed to stop, though, when Sakura asked, "Why did you become a ninja?"

"To defend those who are important to me," Naruto answered somberly. His blue eyes locked upon her green eyes. "What is your purpose for becoming a ninja?"

Sakura looked away, her face flushed but with what emotion was uncertain. "I . . . I did it . . . to be near someone who is important to me."

"How important is this person that you would become a ninja for them?" Naruto inquired. "Would you risk death for them? Would you fight for and alongside them? Would you kill for them?"

Sakura's answer came in a soft whisper. "Yes . . ."

Naruto smiled gently. "Then you'll be ok. As long as you remember who you're doing it for."

* * *

No sooner had the four genin had stepped inside the building where the first part of the Chunin Exams would take place than when Sakura called out, "Sasuke! Sai!"

The two boys turned to her, and while both were dark-haired and black-clad, they had significantly different styles. The one that answered to the name Sasuke wore a wide-collared black T-shirt and black pants with black open-toed ninja boots and black leather bindings around his forearms. His hair was styled in such a fashion that the back of it resembled a duck's tail and his dark-eyed stare was full of restrained menace. The one that answered to the name Sai had black hair that limply framed his face and wore a mesh shirt that displayed the lean musculature and pale skin of his frame. His legs were covered by black long shorts with gauze bindings around his calves and he wore black open-toed ninja boots.

"You've brought some interesting people here," Sasuke remarked.

"Ugly, too," Sai added. "Not a looker in the bunch. But then, billboard brow can't have anyone prettier than her around. It'd just show how hideous she is."

"You do realize that's your teammate you're talking crap about, right?" Naruto asked sharply, immediately not liking the pale boy.

"Dickless standing up for ugly," Sai answered sardonically. "It's almost poetic."

"I don't like your attitude," Gaara snarled.

"Screw you, too, raccoon face," Sai retorted tonelessly.

Gaara let out a low growl, as Haku raised her hand to still Gaara's anger. "He's goading you," she warned him.

"And therein, the only one of you that has a dick, and it's a girl," Sai jabbed.

Haku flushed, although it was indeterminable whether the redness on her cheeks came from anger or embarrassment. Naruto's eyes flashed a baleful crimson. "That's it," the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki hissed. "He's going down in flames."

"Naruto . . . don't . . ." Haku warned, but Naruto wouldn't hear it, as he was busy charging toward Sai for the purpose of beating him senseless. He was halted by Sasuke, who had darted between him and Sai.

Naruto looked into Sasuke's eyes and saw that they had turned crimson with three tomoe surrounding each pupil. "Sharingan," he murmured.

"You want a fight, _I'll_ give you one," Sasuke challenged.

"You're not the one I wanna hit, but if you're offering . . ." Naruto answered.

Sasuke's retort to that was a brutal punch that threw Naruto back against the nearest wall. Before Naruto could properly reorient himself, Sasuke was in his face throwing multiple punches, finishing with a brutal uppercut that Naruto could have sworn was tinged with hellish golden flames. Watching the seemingly one-sided slaughter were Gaara, Haku, Sakura, and Sai, three of the four looking with horror and one with disinterest.

The downed Naruto slowly rose to his feet, wiping blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. "Not bad. Not bad at all. You wanna see _my_ moves now?"

Before Sasuke could answer, Naruto swept his leg out in a low kick meant to trip Sasuke, who jumped over Naruto's leg. In response, Naruto continued his spinning sweep and redirected it into a rising roundhouse kick that caught Sasuke in the stomach. Naruto pushed off with his other foot and half-climbed, half-jumped into a flipping kick that crashed against Sasuke's head. This time, Sasuke grabbed Naruto's ankle and threw him, Naruto twisting in midair to land on his feet and primary hand in a crouch.

By that time, of course, Sasuke had darted behind him and aimed a stomping kick for his head. Naruto simply blocked his foot with his forearm and twisted while on the ground into a kick that Sasuke blocked with his hand. The two opponents glared at each other, blue-turning-demon red meeting crimson.

"I have to admit, Dickless is good," Sai remarked.

"Yeah," Sakura agreed. "And I doubt he doesn't have a dick."

"Do you feel that power?" Gaara whispered to Haku.

"Yes . . . it's too maleficent, too thick, and altogether too strong to belong to a human," Haku whispered back.

"Dai Shi," Gaara concluded. "Sasuke's his host."

"Then we'd better find some way to stop this fight before Sasuke, or Dai Shi, decides to stop holding back," Haku suggested.

As it turned out, Gaara and Haku didn't have to intervene, as another Leaf genin team, comprised of two boys and one girl, stepped in. One of the boys was dressed in an obscenely tight green suit with orange arm-warmers and leg-warmers and had a black bowl cut and thick eyebrows. The other boy was long-haired and obscenely pretty, pale purple, almost white, eyes distinguishing him along with bandages around his left side. The girl had brown hair tied up in twin buns and wore a pink mandarin shirt and green pants.

"As entertaining as it would be to see you two fight, save it for the ring," the pale-eyed boy coldly interjected.

Reluctantly, Naruto and Sasuke separated, sending each other heated glares that reminded them that this would not be the end of their conflict. Both rejoined their respective genin teams and, along with the third genin team, went upstairs to the meeting hall where all the prospective chunin were. Of course, they had to get past a genjutsu designed to weed out unworthy competitors first, and that they managed to accomplish with the help of the pale-eyed boy, whose bloodline limit dojutsu allowed him to see past the illusion.

* * *

Of course, Naruto just had to introduce himself to all the prospective chunin inside. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. As of this moment, all your asses belong to me . . . and I'll only return them when I'm done tanning them!"

While this merited a great number of glares aimed at Naruto, Renge just giggled. "Well, you're certainly confident. I like that in a man."

Just then, a girl with pale blonde hair styled in a ponytail and dressed in purple with her identifying band wrapped around her waist sidled up to Naruto. "Would you like to at least know the name of the lady whose ass you'll be giving back freshly tanned?" she asked, batting her lashes coquettishly.

"Yeah, I'd like that," Naruto answered nonchalantly. "Besides, it never hurts to know the name of a beautiful girl."

The blonde blushed. "I'm Ino Yamanaka. What's your name, Mr. Tough Guy?"

"Uzumaki," Naruto replied. "Naruto Uzumaki."

While Naruto and Ino flirted with each other, Haku and Yugito stared holes in Ino; or rather, if they were capable of literally burning holes in someone with their eyes, there might have been nothing left of Ino. Sakura also stared at Ino with something resembling jealousy in her eyes.

"You could do better," Sai remarked to Naruto. "But as dickless as you are, I'm not surprised you'd go for a dog-face like her."

"Sai. Try not to be such a prick. You'll get more people to like you that way," Naruto answered coolly.

Unbeknownst to Naruto, a girl with long indigo hair and purplish-white eyes, dressed in a heavy khaki jacket and loose dark purple pants that didn't quite hide her "assets," was watching him with a question in her eyes. _Naruto? Is that you?_

Beside her, a boy in a hooded gray coat with fang-like red markings on his cheeks and a white-furred puppy inside that coat just rolled his eyes. "Showoff."

"He must either be very brave, very foolish, or very strong to come in with that sort of declaration," another boy beside the indigo-haired girl, this one wearing sunglasses and a trench coat with the collar turned up to obscure his face, remarked.

"He doesn't look that tough," the boy with the markings muttered.

"Kiba, in the world of ninja, nothing and no one is as it seems," the sunglasses-wearing boy cautioned.

Kiba shrugged. "Whatever. I still say he isn't so tough."

Meanwhile, Sasuke cut into Naruto and Ino's flirtation with a cold glance. "You," he spat at Naruto.

"What, bastard?" Naruto retorted.

"Do you really think you're that strong?" This was asked in a cold challenge.

"I _know._ And I'm not scared of you."

Sasuke chuckled and released a small bit of murderous intent. "Perhaps you should be."

Surprisingly, even that small release of deadly aura caused several genin to nearly fall to their knees and even the stronger genin were somewhat rattled. Naruto just stood his ground and let his blue eyes flash crimson with slit pupils. "You're going to have to try harder than that," the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox holder taunted.

As Sasuke and Naruto had their faceoff, Gaara, Haku, and Yugito looked at each other with trepidation. "Dai Shi . . ." Haku murmured.

"Are you sure?" Yugito whispered.

"Yes," Haku replied. "His aura is too evil, too cruel, and too strong to be anything but Dai Shi. And I can tell . . . this isn't even the peak of his strength."

"We'll have to be careful," Gaara whispered. "If we have to fight him, we fight him as Rangers. He'll be too strong for us to stand a chance otherwise. Lucky for Naruto, he was interrupted before Dai Shi could unleash his greater powers."

Just then, a tall, bespectacled young man with silver hair styled in a ponytail moved closer to Naruto and asked, "Would you mind not making such a scene?"

"And who are you?" Naruto asked.

"Kabuto," the young man replied. He pulled out a deck of cards and riffled through them for a while before stopping at a specific one. "Ah. Sasuke Uchiha. Genin of the Hidden Leaf Village. Teammates are Sakura Haruno and Sai Tenma. Highly skilled in the Uchiha Clan taijutsu, highly skilled in ninjutsu, particularly fire techniques, and somewhat middling in genjutsu. Has taken 23 D-rank missions, 12 C-rank missions, 4 B-rank missions, and no A- or S-rank missions."

"Four B-rank missions?" Naruto asked. "And how did you know I wanted information on Sasuke?"

"I have a sixth sense for these things," Kabuto replied. "You and your team come from the Hidden Beast Village, right?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

"Nothing, really. From what I've been able to ascertain, Daijugakure turns out some very skilled taijutsu practitioners, although it is a very unique style that's said to be hard to learn unless you have some sort of bond with an animal spirit."

"Yeah. We basically channel the spirits of animals into our fighting techniques," Naruto said.

"And you even have a special form of summoning which allows you to physically manifest your animal spirit as a projectile attack that acts very much like the animal your style is patterned after," Kabuto added.

"How do you know all of that, anyway?" Renge asked. "Are you some kind of spy?"

"No, just well-read," Kabuto replied calmly.

Naruto looked out at the crowd of prospective chunin, seeing several with identifying bands that had musical notes as their symbol. He gave a small smirk to a bandaged, almost mummy-like ninja whose eye narrowed with anger, while his smaller, spikier-haired teammate's eyes widened in fear before also narrowing in anger. The dark-haired girl accompanying them both, dressed in an urban camouflage scarf and pants with a gray shirt, looked away from Naruto's intense stare.

"Say, who are those guys?"

"They're from the Hidden Sound Village," Kabuto replied. "Relatively new on the scene, so I don't know how up to snuff they are compared to our shinobi."

That caused the bandaged ninja to stalk over to them and take a swing at Kabuto. While his punch seemed to miss, Kabuto's glasses suddenly cracked and he vomited. "What the hell?" Naruto asked. "How did you –?" The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki cut himself off when he noticed the large object on his arm, a cross between a bracer and a shield with strategically placed holes, like a flute but larger. "That thing on your arm . . . it concentrates and amplifies sonic vibrations, disrupting the inner ear should those vibrations hit their target."

"You're very astute," the bandaged ninja remarked grimly. "Let's hope those smarts make you last a little bit before I kick your ass."

Just as Yugito was about to step in to defend Naruto, a gruff voice announced, "All right, you little bastards, it's time for the first part of your exams!"

* * *

Everyone present turned to face a tall, muscular Leaf jonin dressed in a black trench coat over black-and-dark gray clothes. He wore his identifying band on a bandana that concealed his head, and eyes filled with restrained menace stared out of a scarred face. He looked out at the genin who were present and his eyes lit upon Naruto Uzumaki, a darkly gleeful smile forming.

"Hey, kid. You look familiar."

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

"Yeah. Mr. 'I'm Gonna Make Everyone My Bitch.' I like that kind of spirit. You'll get yourself killed soon enough acting like that, but I like it." He addressed all of the genin. "For the record, attacking another genin before the survival and combat portions of the exam start will not be tolerated and will merit automatic failure if done enough times! Now that you understand that, everyone come with me for the first exam!"

Obediently yet nervously, they followed the darkly clad jonin to what appeared to be a classroom, where they all took seats. Haku had managed to get a seat next to Naruto, as had the indigo-haired girl in the somewhat unflattering clothes. Gaara was sandwiched between Sakura and Yugito, while Temari sat above him and Renge and Karasu sat below him.

"So who are you, anyway?" Naruto asked.

"Ibiki Morino," the gruff jonin replied. "The purpose of this part of the exam is to test your actual knowledge of the ins and outs of being a ninja. You start with ten points and nine questions, with the tenth question being a verbal exam in itself. You will lose one point for each question you get wrong. If you are caught cheating, you will lose two points each time you are caught. Those of you who manage to lose all ten points will automatically fail and be forced to wait till the next exam to try again, not to mention that your entire team will fail with you. Am I understood?"

The classroom's occupants stared at Ibiki in shellshock.

"I'll take that as a yes," Ibiki remarked.

* * *

End Notes: There you go, the second chapter of Slayer Rangers. You have seen the face of Dai Shi's host and probably gotten your guesses as to his identity confirmed. That isn't going to be the end of it, though; once they get past the written part of the exam, the survival part's going to be full of all kinds of nasty fights. As you can probably tell, things will not play out quite like they did in the original Naruto, specifically meaning Sasuke's interaction with Orochimaru. And with the Ten-Headed Infernal Dragon inside him, Sasuke's defection from the Hidden Leaf may very well happen in this arc. As for other twists, like maybe if Sai didn't know more than he thought he did or if Naruto's gonna end up with a harem . . . you'll just have to read the next chapters. In the meantime, thanks very much for reading and hope you enjoyed.


	3. Of Trials and Tribulations

"Bijuken Sentai Retsuranger"

"Tailed Beast-Fist Squadron Strike Rangers"

Chapter 3: "Of Trials and Tribulations"

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Viz. Power Rangers belongs to Disney and formerly Saban. Super Sentai belongs to Toei. I am not Masashi Kishimoto, nor am I Haim Saban, nor am I an executive from Viz, Disney, or Toei. Ergo, I do not have any legal claim to any of these properties that I am shamelessly borrowing for the purpose of this story. All in good fun, people, so don't sue!

Author's note: Yeah, things are going to be happening somewhat differently here. For those of you who've been harping on how "obvious" I made it that Sasuke was going to be Dai Shi's host, frankly you only know that because you know the storyline of Naruto so well. The fun part, though, is bending and twisting that storyline, what with the monkey wrench of Naruto being a Power Ranger and Sasuke being the host of Dai Shi. How things are going to change here, I will describe here. Now it's time for us to begin.

* * *

"Mother-freaking hell," Karasu mumbled as he stared at the questions on his paper. "I am so screwed."

"You're not the only one," Renge murmured next to him. "I wasn't even aware I was supposed to study for this one."

Yugito rolled her eyes. "Suck it up, you damn pansies. I'm not failing on your accounts."

Karasu and Renge glared at Yugito, whose teal eyes merely flashed a catlike gold. Both of them got the hint and turned to their own papers, trying to figure out just how they were going to answer the questions. Their ruminations were accented, though, with mumbled curses, particularly the repetition of the "F" bomb in its various permutations. Yugito stared contemplatively at her paper, tapping the eraser nub of her pencil against the edge of her desk.

Elsewhere in the lecture hall, Naruto glared at his paper. _I barely know the answer to half of these. Damn it. How the . . ._

His musings were interrupted by a nudge from the pale-eyed girl in the somewhat unflattering clothes. "N-naruto . . ."

Naruto turned to the girl, finally fully aware of her. She looked familiar to him, but he was having difficulty remembering precisely who she was. "How do you know my name?"

"I . . . I . . . I'm Hi-Hina . . . ta . . ." the girl whispered. "I know . . . the answers."

"No, it's ok, Hinata," Naruto muttered. "I don't want to get you in trouble."

"It's ok, Naruto . . ." Hinata whispered. "I can . . . I won't get caught. I just . . ."

While Hinata was fighting her shyness to get the words she wanted to say out, Haku was using surreptitiously positioned Demonic Crystal Ice Mirrors to read the answers the other genin were writing. She turned to Naruto and smiled confidently at him. "Don't worry. We're not going to get caught. That's the point of this exercise."

Naruto looked at Haku curiously. "The point?"

"To test how well we can gather information without being detected by the enemy," Haku explained.

"Ok . . ." Naruto mumbled. Letting Hinata and Haku show him the answers, Naruto copied them down onto his paper. Around the three genin, the other genin were using their particular abilities to get the answers as well. Ino used her clan's mind transfer techniques to slip into Sakura's mind and read the answers from her, then slipped back into her own body and slipped the answers to her teammates, a large-bodied boy named Choji Akimichi and a boy with his hair in a spiky high ponytail named Shikamaru Nara. Kiba and Shino used Kiba's nin-dog Akamaru and Shino's hive of chakra-eating insects to covertly gather the answers. Gaara formed his sand into an eye that would secretly read information from the other genin's papers, and Sasuke activated his Sharingan to copy the writing of another genin.

Thirty minutes later, Ibiki spoke up. "Time's up, you little pukes. Now it's time for the tenth question."

"Tenth question?" Naruto repeated. "What the hell!? There isn't a tenth question on this paper!"

"You're right, there isn't," Ibiki answered. "The tenth question is verbal. You're welcome to not take it, but that means you automatically fail and you have to wait till the next exam. If you take it and get it wrong, you're stuck as genin for the rest of your miserable lives. You _and_ your teams."

"What the hell?!" Karasu yelled.

"Are you scared, you little puke?" Ibiki sneered.

"Screw you," Karasu retorted grimly. "I'm not scared."

"Really? Because I can smell the fear coming off you. It's a very sweet musk."

Karasu growled. "So what? So freaking what? Even if I am scared of you, I'm not going to run out like a wimp. I don't care what you do to me."

Despite Karasu's brave words, there were plenty of other genin that had chosen to vacate the premises. Naruto looked at Karasu and they shared a secret grin. Upon breaking eye contact, Naruto's grin turned into a wide smirk. "Hey, Ibiki. You know who the real failures are?"

"Who?" Ibiki asked curiously.

"The ones who ran out like pansies. That's not how you get a mission done. Things go wrong, stuff happens that you didn't account for, and sometimes really nasty crap goes down. Does that mean you give up? Does that mean you run out like a coward? No. You see it through to the end, even if it's your end . . . because backing out is not an option."

Ibiki looked out at the remaining genin. "Do all of you agree with this little punk?"

"He's got balls, I'll give him that," Kankuro remarked.

"I was wrong," Sai said. "He has a dick, after all. He's still ugly."

Sasuke smirked as he looked at Naruto out of the corner of his Sharingan. "You and I better be facing each other at the end of this. I'll be disappointed if we don't."

A feral smirk graced Naruto's face, as his eyes shifted from blue to slit-pupil crimson. "Yeah, me, too."

The others did not say very much, but their steadfast refusal to leave said all that they needed to say. Ibiki chuckled. "You pass. All you little punks pass."

"Huh?" Renge asked.

"Uzumaki was right," Ibiki went on. "In the real world of shinobi, you don't get a do-over. You don't get to back out and try again later. The missions you will be going on as chunin will be 'do or die,' emphasis on 'do' and 'die.' There will be things you didn't account for, risks you're forced to take because you don't have enough information. Even more importantly, you'll not just be responsible for yourself, but for the fate of the shinobi with you and possibly your entire village."

He took off his Leaf headband, which he wore like a bandana, revealing a bald head full of frighteningly hideous scars. "This is what can happen to you when you're on a mission. But that doesn't mean you give up. If you do, you were never worthy of being shinobi in the first place and you'll die like the worthless pukes you turned out to be." He smirked slightly. "But you had the courage to stick this question out, so . . ."

Before he could finish, he was interrupted by the sound of a shattering window and a trench-coated figure doing a barrel roll into the room before springing up to reveal . . . a very shapely purple-haired woman using the trench coat to cover a short-sleeved, short-legged fishnet body stocking which was almost her sole article of clothing. The only thing that kept everyone present from seeing her assets was the trench coat and the dark orange miniskirt wrapped around her hips. Her hair was tied in a spiky upward ponytail and she wore the Leaf headband around her forehead.

"Ladies and gentlemen . . . Anko Mitarashi has arrived," the woman greeted with a smirk.

Karasu grinned. "That . . . is officially the coolest woman I have ever seen."

"Cooler than me?" Renge asked. "For shame, Karasu. For shame."

Anko looked at Ibiki. "You let all these punks pass? Getting soft, Ibiki."

"You're early, Anko," Ibiki growled.

"Yeah, I am," Anko answered. "What's it to you?" She turned to the remaining genin. "All right, time for you to come with me!"

As the genin followed Anko out, Ibiki briefly pulled Naruto away from the others. "You know, there are some harmless little betting rings going on about who's going to come out of this exam smelling like roses. Good money's gonna be on you, kid."

"Why's that?" Naruto asked.

"You've got attitude, and I can tell it's not all talk," Ibiki replied. "You're gonna go far, and there are a lot of people who can't wait to see how far you go."

Naruto chuckled. "Thanks for the compliment, but I gotta get back to my team. Besides, Anko'll kill me if I'm not there."

"Sure." Ibiki gave Naruto a hard pat on the back. "Good luck, punk."

* * *

Meanwhile, the Beast jonin were mingling with the Leaf jonin in the lounge reserved for jonin-sensei. The jonin-sensei R.J. and Kirabi saw were quite interesting, in their own ways. One was a man with silver-gray hair like a scarecrow and who wore his headband like an eye-patch over his left eye, not to mention a mask that hid everything from the nose down, leaving only a dark gray right eye visible. Another was a dark-bearded man who carried trench knives on his person. The third was a man who wore his hair in a bowl cut, had obscenely thick eyebrows, and wore an obscenely tight green spandex suit with orange leg-warmers and arm-warmers. The fourth was a lovely red-eyed, dark-haired woman who wore a dress made of white wrappings and a red right sleeve.

These four were, respectively, Kakashi Hatake, Asuma Sarutobi, Might Guy, and Kurenai Yuhi, and they were eyeing the Beast jonin just as intently as the Beast jonin were eyeing them. One was a tall, lithe brunet man dressed in black with a purple vest-jacket and a strange purple bracer shaped like a wolf's head combined with a wrestling bell. The other was an even taller, burlier man with white cornrows for hair, darkly bronzed skin, sunglasses concealing his eyes, and baggy whitish-gray clothes adorning his muscle-bound frame. These two were R.J., short for Robert James, and Kirabi, or Killer Bee, respectively.

"You have . . . some interesting ninja here," R.J. remarked.

"And Daijugakure raises some interesting ninja as well," Kakashi remarked.

"Yo, yo, Kurenai, Crimson Honey," Kirabi rapped. "You mind hanging with me and my bunny?"

"I've never heard it called that before," Kurenai remarked, slightly amused, while Asuma glared metaphorical holes in Kirabi.

"Don't worry, I won't be bringing you harm," Kirabi rhymed. "In no time, you'll be falling for my charm."

Kurenai chuckled slightly. "That'll be the day."

"Is he always like this?" Kakashi asked R.J.

"You learn to live with it," R.J. replied breezily. "And it can be entertaining, depending on your mood."

"You two seem to be possessed of youthful spirits," Guy remarked to R.J. and Kirabi. He looked at R.J. intently. "The wolf is a noble and youthful animal. I am certain that you are a proper wielder of its spirit."

"I am," R.J. answered. "So you think they all passed?"

"I'm sure of it," Kakashi remarked. "Especially Sasuke."

"I would say the same of my most youthful student, Lee!" Guy declared enthusiastically.

"I'm pretty sure of mine, too," Asuma added. "They can be a motivated bunch when it comes down to it."

"Speaking of students, one of yours looks very familiar," Kurenai commented to R.J. "Like what a little boy who disappeared years ago would have grown into by now."

"Would it be the one in the red-and-black jacket?" R.J. asked coyly.

"Yes," Kurenai replied.

"Why do you ask?" R.J. inquired curiously.

"Because . . . one of my students is quite . . . shall we say . . . fixated on him," Kurenai answered. "And if they're both going to be in the Chunin Exams, that could make things interesting."

"Playing matchmaker, huh? Well, I'm game. Naruto needs a good woman in his life."

Kurenai blinked momentarily. "Did you say his name was Naruto?"

"Yeah? What of it?"

"Your Naruto wouldn't be Naruto Uzumaki, would it?"

"The one and only. And if you're wondering how he resurfaced as a Daiju-nin, well . . . frankly, if I'd been treated the way he was when he was here, I'd have said 'screw this' and started taking heads."

The four Leaf jonin looked at R.J. with some degree of surprise, as if it wasn't quite registering that the mellow Wolf jonin had said what he just said. Kakashi finally spoke up. "You're right . . . we should have treated Naruto better. He was given a burden he didn't ask for, and we refused to see him for what he was."

"Don't worry about a thing," Kirabi rapped. "For Naruto, love and friendship, not diamonds, are the greatest bling."

"It sounds like he's turned out all right," Asuma said.

"Yeah," R.J. replied. "And he just might surprise you all with what he's learned from us in Hidden Beast."

"I'm looking forward to seeing him engage my student Neji or my student Lee or my student Tenten in a contest of youthful prowess," Guy remarked. "I wonder . . . will your Beast-Fist style stand up to Lee's Strong Fist or Neji's Gentle Fist or Tenten's array of weapons?"

"I'm looking forward to that, too," R.J. remarked. "I'm sure it'll be fun to watch."

"What's that on your wrist?" Asuma asked, pointing to the purple wolf's-head bracer on R.J.'s left wrist. "Is it some kind of weapon?"

"Yeah, it is," R.J. answered. "It helps me focus my wolf spirit."

"Why do you need help with that?" Asuma wondered. "I thought you were a master of the Wolf-Spirit Beast-Fist."

"I can't always control it," R.J. admitted. "And if it wasn't for this . . ." He held up his bracer. ". . . let's just say it wouldn't be safe to be around me."

"I hope they didn't get Ibiki overseeing the first part of the exam," Kakashi muttered. "They're screwed if they did."

"Why's that?" Kirabi rhymed. "Who's that cat?"

"Ibiki Morino is one of the best from ANBU's Interrogation and Torture Squad," Kakashi explained. "The reason he's one of the best is that he doesn't need to touch you to torture you; it's all about psychological warfare with him. He wears you down with your own fears and anxieties, and then once you're too off-balance to resist . . . he swoops in for the kill."

"He enjoys it, too," Asuma added.

"Sounds like a gnarly dude," R.J. commented. "But my students should be able to handle him."

"What makes you think that?" Kurenai asked.

"A major part of Beast-Fist is overcoming fear," R.J. replied. "As that book said, 'Fear is the mind-killer, the little death that brings total obliteration.' Submit to fear, and you submit to death. Especially in this case . . ."

"What are you talking about?" Guy asked.

"We're here to kick ass and take names," Kirabi replied. "And one of those is Dai Shi, for whom we came."

"Dai Shi?" Kurenai asked. "Who's that?"

"A demonic dragon, even more dangerous than any Tailed Beast, whom our Order trapped several eons ago," R.J. explained. "But the seal weakened over time . . . and he busted loose . . . and we're here because he inhabits someone from this village. Someone who's likely become a shinobi and is in the Chunin Exams."

"Do you have any idea who?" Guy asked.

"No," R.J. admitted. "But we know the personality type Dai Shi goes for. Someone full of rage, lusting for vengeance, living only for the destruction of the object of their hate . . . Their hatred and anger will be wedded to the power and fury of Dai Shi, which will not only make them stronger but also corrupt their thinking, making them into a perfect vessel for Dai Shi's rebirth."

"Someone like that . . . is in our village?" Asuma uttered.

"It's why we're here," R.J. said. "It's why we exist . . . to stop Dai Shi from ravaging this world and erasing humanity."

"Just gotta say, you might want to watch out for your students, okay?" Kirabi rhymed.

"All right," Kakashi said. "We'll just have to watch out, but have you guys told the Hokage?"

"Yeah," R.J. replied. "He's on the alert."

* * *

Elsewhere, the prospective chunin were standing at the entrance to a great forest, Anko having led them there. "All right, this is the Forest of Death, so named because a lot of people died here."

"They must have sucked at not dying, then," Naruto muttered. "Forest doesn't look that scary."

Suddenly, a kunai flew past Naruto, grazing his cheek as it flew. Before he knew it, Anko was behind him, her body pressed against his back and her serpentine tongue darting out for a taste of his blood. "Tough guy, huh?" she taunted in his ear. "Yeah, I think I heard about you. Said you were going to kick everyone's asses. Well, it's the tough guys that leave their blood all over this forest."

"Are you trying to frighten me, or is this your rather unusual method of flirting?" Naruto asked. "Because if it's the former, you kind of suck. If it's the latter . . . well, I'm game any time you are."

Anko's hazel eyes widened slightly. "You're a strange one, kid. But I think I'm gonna like you."

There were several girls watching the exchange between Anko and Naruto with no small amount of distaste. One of those girls was a blonde with slanted catlike teal eyes. Another of those girls was black-haired, garbed in a white battle kimono, and toying with a senbon. The third girl had long dark indigo hair and pale eyes that were wide with shock. Those three girls were Yugito Nii, Haku Hyoren, and Hinata Hyuga . . . and none of them were happy that the boy they had all taken an interest in was practically being molested by Anko.

Fortunately for them, a Grass Village ninja wearing a tan robe over black leggings came up to Anko with a kunai being held in her serpentine tongue. "I'm sorry, is this yours?" she asked in a vaguely slithery voice.

"Yeah," Anko replied as she took back the kunai. "Thanks."

"Hmm, your kunai cut my hair . . . and I couldn't help but get excited at the scent of blood in the air," the Grass-nin remarked.

Anko reluctantly released Naruto and went back to addressing the genin. "Anyway, you have five days from now to make it through the Forest of Death and into the tower on the other end. That is your safe zone. Each team will be given one scroll; half will have the kanji for Heaven and the other half will have the kanji for Earth. To win, you must not only be alive, your teammates must be alive, and you have to have both scrolls."

"How are we going to do that?" Ino asked.

"You beat the crap out of some other team and take their scroll," Anko replied.

"And what's this about 'alive'?" Sai asked. "Does that mean death is highly likely?"

"It's the Forest of _Death_ for a reason, kid," Anko replied. "Death is very frigging likely, which is why you're going to go to that booth –" she pointed to a booth some distance away from her at the entrance to the forest "– and sign waivers basically saying that you absolve the village of all responsibility in the event of your ill-timed and horribly gruesome deaths."

There were shivers all around, but not all of those shivers came from fear. Karasu seemed to have a smile on his face. "Like I said, the coolest woman in the world."

"Hey, wait, where are we gonna get food?" Choji asked.

"There's plenty of food in the forest," Anko replied. "You'll just have to hunt and kill for it."

After everyone had signed the prerequisite waivers, Anko gave the prospective chunin a parting instruction. "Try not to die!"

* * *

Inside the Forest of Death, Team Arashi gathered. "You know . . ." Naruto said. "If we can take down Sasuke . . . we might just put a crimp in Dai Shi's plans."

"Are you serious?" Haku asked somberly.

"Yeah," Naruto replied. "You heard what Grandpa Zyukage said. Dai Shi's not as strong as he used to be, especially now that he's locked up in a squishy human body. If we take him, the three of us together, we stand a chance."

"Just one problem," Gaara whispered. "He has an Earth scroll. We have an Earth scroll. We do not gain anything related to this contest from fighting him."

"Forget the exam," Naruto snapped. "We're stopping a threat to the survival of _humanity itself._ That's what we came here to do, and that's what we're going to do. End of story."

"We have to have a plan, if we are to do what you suggest," Haku spoke up. "Charging at Dai Shi and hoping for the best will simply get us killed."

"I've got a plan," Naruto said. "I'll fight Sasuke head on, and you and Gaara will use your ice and sand techniques to form a trap. Then we finish him."

* * *

Unbeknownst to them, Sakura had overheard Naruto's last words while on her way back to her team from her bathroom break. Her eyes widened in horror and she took off as fast as her legs could carry her. By the time she returned to Sasuke and Sai, she was panting heavily.

"What's wrong, billboard brow?" Sai asked.

"Sasuke . . . that team . . . those Beast genin . . . they're after you," Sakura got out in between pants.

Sasuke smirked. "They're after me, are they? Hm. Whatever. Let them come."

"Are you serious, Sasuke?!" Sakura exclaimed. "They're going to hurt you! Maybe even kill you!"

"You worry too much, Sakura," Sasuke answered, the deadly smirk still on his face. "If those Beast genin come after me . . . they won't live long enough to regret it." His eyes flashed a deadly Sharingan red on those last eight words.

"If you say so . . ." Sakura murmured, although she couldn't help but worry.

As it turned out, it wasn't Team Arashi Sakura's team had to worry about. Their real troubles came from the mysterious Grass-nin who had given Anko back her kunai . . . and she was emitting a frightful amount of murderous intent, the smile on her face making it clear how much she looked forward to shedding their blood. "What do you want?" Sasuke asked.

"Your Earth scroll," the Grass-nin replied sinisterly. "It'll go well with my Heaven scroll."

"You're not getting it," Sakura declared.

"I think I can change your mind on that," the Grass-nin mused idly, and the wave of murderous intent she emitted was so immense that Sakura, Sasuke, and Sai were overwhelmed with visions of being killed gruesomely at her hands . . . as though it were happening already.

To her surprise, Sasuke began to laugh, a cruel, maniacal sound. "You really think that parlor trick's going to work on me?" he asked, stalking toward the Grass-nin. "You're sorely mistaken."

"It seems to have worked on your teammates," the Grass-nin purred. "But then, they're not you, are they?"

Sasuke smiled a deadly smile, his Sharingan blazing brightly. "I think it's time I showed you my power."

"Thank you for the invitation," the Grass-nin hissed, just before abnormally stretching her body, like plastic or rubber, into an attack on Sasuke, who dodged with incredible agility. The Grass-nin simply twisted and threw a highly elastic punch at Sasuke, who caught it and wrenched her around. Unfortunately for him, she simply used it as an opportunity to literally wrap her body around his. "You're more impressive so far than I thought you'd be."

"Thanks," Sasuke answered, "but this is the least of my power. Here's more."

With a mighty roar and a burst of fiery chakra, Sasuke threw the Grass-nin off him, and when she rose again, she saw that he was now wearing a skintight dark red suit accented with golden armor. The armor came in the form of a chest shield with a diamond-shaped center, a black helmet with a golden faceplate resembling a knight's visor, gold bands around his upper arms, a black belt with a golden buckle shaped like the open maw of a dragon with the Uchiha clan symbol between its jaws, black gauntlets with golden cuffs shaped like dragon heads, and black boots reinforced with greaves also shaped like dragon heads.

"What is this transformation?" the Grass-nin wondered in shock.

The answer to her question came when the armored Sasuke threw a super-fast flying kick that caught her in the chest, sending her flying into a tree trunk with enough force to shatter every bone in a normal person's body. Judging by how she got up after that, she was by no means a normal person, as if the rubbery elasticity she had already demonstrated wasn't proof enough. She wiped blood off her lip, smirking nastily at Sasuke.

"So you got up after that," Sasuke remarked, his voice deeper and rougher. "You might not be entirely a waste of time after all."

The Grass-nin charged at Sasuke, attacking him in close quarters, but Sasuke blocked and dodged every one of her strikes as though he could see her coming seconds before she actually made a move. Technically, with the analytical powers of his Sharingan, that was more fact than conjecture, and even then there was the small matter of those powers being greatly boosted by Dai Shi's residence in his body. Finally growing weary of the fight, Sasuke grabbed the Grass-nin's head and began to pull, tearing away part of her face to reveal paler skin and a lavender-shadowed golden eye beneath.

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked.

"You'll find out . . . soon enough," the Grass-nin replied, "her" voice now rougher and more masculine-sounding. "In the meantime, a parting gift is in order, don't you think?"

The Grass-nin extended "her" neck so as to bring "her" head close enough to Sasuke's for "her" to bite into his neck. To "her" great dismay, Sasuke caught the Grass-nin by "her" obscenely stretched neck and squeezed hard. "I don't bite on the first date. But I will give you a parting gift of my own. Yomiton: Anryu Endan." An inferno in the shape of a black dragon lunged at the Grass-nin from Sasuke's hand and engulfed "her." Sasuke dropped the burning Grass-nin and powered down from his armored state, collapsing to one knee as he did.

_Using those powers . . . still takes a toll on my body . . ._

_**It won't do so forever, Sasuke Uchiha,**_ a reverberant dark voice spoke in his mind. _**The more you advance your strength in the power of the Beast-Fist Confrontation Art and the Underworld Release, the stronger you will become . . . and the closer you will get to destroying that man.**_

_Yes. For that, I can endure anything. _Anything!

_**Good to hear that you're still so determined.**_

_Why shouldn't I be? You've given me an incredible gift, and I will use it to annihilate that bastard._ Sasuke began to chuckle crazily. _Won't he be surprised, to find that I don't need eyes like his to defeat him!_

He finally rose to his feet, looking at his still-dazed teammates. A twinge of sympathy prompted him to pick them up and carry them under his arms to someplace safe. He didn't even know why he bothered with them sometimes; both of them were annoying, but one seemed particularly obsessed with penises and the other fawned over him to the point of complete idiocy. Still, they were his teammates, and if anything from Kakashi's teachings had made an impact, it was that teammates shouldn't be abandoned. Besides, he needed them so he could continue in the Chunin Exams.

* * *

Elsewhere in the Forest of Death, chills ran down the spines of Teams Arashi and Raiden. "Did you feel that?" Naruto asked.

"Dai Shi . . ." Yugito murmured.

Karasu smirked. "This is going to be exciting."

"Yeah, assuming you don't get killed," Renge muttered to herself.

"We'd better be careful," Gaara advised. "Dai Shi is not one any of us should take on solo."

"Then the six of us fight him," Haku murmured. "Even his power should not be enough to stand against us all."

Yugito smiled slowly. "You can come out now, songstress, you and your little boy toys."

At that moment, three teenagers stepped out of the shadows of the forest. One was a girl with long black hair and dressed in a gray top and sniper camouflage pants. The other two were boys, one being the practically mummy-like bandaged boy who had assaulted Kabuto with the Melody Arm. The other had spiky dark hair and was garbed in a khaki tunic and white pants. All three wore headbands identifying them as Sound ninja.

The girl smirked cruelly at Teams Arashi and Raiden. "So you're the Hidden Beast genin. You don't look so tough."

"Neither do you," Karasu retorted.

"Hey, pretty boy," the girl called out. "You might want to spend less time on that glossy hair and more on your ninjutsu."

"Look who's talking," Karasu sneered. "You could be a cover model."

"Enough talk!" the spiky-haired boy shouted. "I'll blow these punks away in one shot!" He thrust out his hands, palms facing out to reveal small holes in their centers. "Slicing Sound Wave!"

Immediately, a blast of concentrated sound emanated from the holes in the boy's palms. The wave of sound did more than just make noise; it also generated intense wind that would have knocked over the two Beast genin teams if not for Gaara's Sand Shield. Unfortunately, the Sand Shield's protection did not last too long, and soon sand particles and air molecules were slicing the Beast genin's faces, hands, and other exposed skin.

"Hmm," the mummy-like boy with the Melody Arm remarked. "They weren't that tough after all."

Suddenly, a burning red spectral fox with nine tails lunged at the Melody Arm user, slashing him repeatedly. "Wanna _bet?_" Naruto snarled.

"Where did that come from?" the Melody Arm wielder gasped out.

Yugito stood next to Naruto, a burning blue aura taking the shape of a two-tailed cat surrounding her. "This is the power of Hidden Beast. The power to fight as the animals do, to be one with the spirits of the beasts."

"You guys are a little tougher than we expected you to be," Renge admitted, "but that doesn't matter. All it gets you is that we actually take you seriously. That's not as good as it sounds." By this point, she'd channeled the chakra of her Seven-Tailed Isonade through twin sword hilts to form blades made of watery energy.

Gaara had transformed his sand into a layer of armor surrounding his body and colored to match what he was wearing and his skin, hair, and eyes. The Sand Armor, while incredibly useful for defense, also weighed him down, as he had compressed so much sand into that armor that it made his body quite heavy. He could still move, but he could not move as fast as he could without the armor. He accepted this sacrifice in speed, because his Shukaku-Spirit Beast-Fist worked best in a defensive pattern.

Haku withdrew a bottle of water strapped to her thigh and opened it. With a mighty throw, she released some water from that bottle and used her Hyoton jutsu to change the falling water into ice needles that flew at the three Sound genin. The spiky-haired boy released another Slicing Sound Wave, and while he succeeded in making the ice needles miss him, they did hit his comrades, much to their very vocal – and profanity-laden – displeasure.

Karasu leaped into the air and, unleashing his raven spirit, performed a graceful dive that culminated in a drop kick to the mummified boy. Unfortunately, the mummified boy unleashed his Melody Arm technique on Karasu, which left him quite disoriented due to the disruption of his inner ear. Seizing upon this opportunity, the mummified boy punched Karasu in the stomach and kneed him in the solar plexus, knocking him to the ground.

"Karasu!" Renge shouted, performing a graceful and deadly dance with her Isonade Swords, cutting through the Slicing Sound Wave and the Melody Arm's attacks. The dark-haired girl threw senbon at Renge, who deflected it with her chakra sabers. "Try harder."

* * *

Outside the Forest of Death, one Anko Mitarashi was happily eating her dango and musing about a certain red-clad Beast genin. She was still rather impressed with him for not being scared of her . . . and for even taking her attempts at intimidation as foreplay. She licked her lips, wondering just what sort of games he was into when it came to "playing" with a woman.

Just then, her musings were interrupted by two ANBU. "What is it?" she asked them.

"Mitarashi, you have to see this," one of the ANBU answered grimly.

When she saw what the ANBU were talking about, she nearly threw up. There were three dead ninja . . . with their faces melted off, and judging by their style of dress they were from the Grass Village. The identification the ANBU gave Anko confirmed their village . . . and something else.

"I know that woman . . ." she murmured. "How long have they been dead?"

"Roughly a week," one of the ANBU replied.

"Then . . ." Anko turned and began to head into the Forest of Death. "I'll deal with this."

* * *

End Notes: There you have it, the Strike Rangers have started busting out their moves, Sasuke has revealed his Dai Shi-granted powers, and there might be some Anko/Naruto goodness going on! Of course, who has time for romance when you're fighting an evil spirit determined to destroy all of humanity and another conspiracy operating in parallel and possibly opposition to the first? Will anything come of this Kirabi/Kurenai/Asuma triangle? Will Hinata get her man? Will Anko be able to stop whoever has killed those Grass ninja and taken their identities? Will the Strike Rangers triumph over the Sound-nin? For the answers to those questions, read on and thank you for giving me this much time. Just before I go, a little information on the original jutsu used here.

Yomiton: Anryu Endan = Underworld Release: Dark Dragon Blaze Bullet

Rank: S-class

Element: Darkness/Fire

Type: Kinjutsu

Description: The Dark Dragon Blaze Bullet works via the user channeling dark chakra into their hand and igniting it upon releasing it through their hand. The dark chakra, once ignited, takes the shape of a black dragon that engulfs and severely burns the target. It is a kinjutsu precisely because it draws upon dark powers for its use.

Nanabiju Nito = Seven-Tailed Beast Two Swords

Rank: A-class

Element: Water

Type: Supplemental

Description: To use this jutsu, the user must be the Jinchuriki of the Seven-Tailed Beast. As such, the water-element chakra possessed by the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki can be channeled into two sword hilts and projected from those hilts as sword blades as long as 1.5 meters. Once that is accomplished, the Seven-Tailed Beast Two Swords can be wielded much like any regular sword, except with greater cutting power and durability than a regular sword.

Juken Abadan = Beast-Fist Riot Bullet

Rank = A-class

Element: N/A

Type: Summoning

Description: The Beast-Fist Riot Bullet is the technique that Daijugakure ninja are best known for and the ultimate in their array of combat techniques. To use the Beast-Fist Riot Bullet, the user's spirit must coexist with the spirit of a particular animal, which is also how the user can employ the Beast-Fist techniques at all. The Beast-Fist Riot Bullet is a summoning technique in that the user calls forth the full power of the animal spirit residing within them and unleashes it in a tangible spectral form that attacks the user's opponents. This can overwhelm most opponents except for those who also have animal spirits that they can unleash in a similar fashion.

All right, that's enough from me. Hope you enjoyed the little lesson, and hopefully you'll stick around for the next chapter.


	4. Survival of the Sickest

"Bijuken Sentai Retsuranger"

"Tailed Beast-Fist Strike Force Strike Rangers"

Chapter 4: "Survival of the Sickest"

Disclaimer: Naruto, Power Rangers, and Super Sentai do not belong to me. Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Viz. Power Rangers belongs to a subdivision of Disney that used to be Saban Entertainment. Super Sentai belongs to Toei. I have no connection to any of the aforementioned companies or persons and thus have nothing to do with the creative processes involved in any of those products. I am simply writing this for my own enjoyment and hopefully yours as well.

Author's note: Well, things have just started to heat up. The Rangers are starting to show off their Beast-Fist techniques, and Sasuke has revealed his own dark powers. How will Sasuke's true nature as the vessel of the Infernal Dragon impact Orochimaru's plans? What effect will it have on Konoha? And will anybody survive when it's time for the battle that reveals all? For the answers to those questions and others, read on.

* * *

Anko Mitarashi leaped through the trees of the Forest of Death, barely repressed terror and hate in her body language. The face-stealing technique that had robbed the Grass-nin of their lives could only be the work of one man. It was that man she feared and hated more than any other, and that man had once meant more to her than her own life. She dropped down from a tree, feeling the mark on her neck starting to burn as a sign she was drawing closer to the bastard.

"Hello, Anko," a slithery voice purred. "It's been such a long time."

"Cut the crap, Orochimaru," Anko snarled, turning to face the man. He might have been handsome, but that was ruined by the sheer inhuman aura emanating from him. Golden eyes akin to a snake's stared out from a bone-white face framed by long black hair, a face that was smirking cruelly at her. "What do you want here?"

"What do I want?" Orochimaru repeated. "That's an interesting question. Perhaps I should ask you what do you want?"

"Your head on a stick," Anko retorted. "Shadow Snake Hand!" Performing the very technique that bastard had taught her, snakes lunged out at Orochimaru from the sleeve of Anko's coat. Orochimaru dodged and retaliated with his inhumanly long tongue, wrapping it around Anko's arm and using it to yank her to him.

"Just like old times, hmm, Anko-chan?" Orochimaru teased.

"Don't call me that!" Anko snapped, kicking Orochimaru in the stomach and using the force of the kick to gain some distance from him. She threw several kunai at Orochimaru, only for the man to effortlessly dodge every one but the last, which he caught as a means of mocking her. At that moment, Anko had tackled him, pinning him to the nearest tree.

"For someone who hates me so much, you're certainly willing to get close," Orochimaru leered.

Anko placed her hand over Orochimaru's as she pinned his wrist against the tree, securing him by stabbing through her own hand with a kunai. "Time to burn in hell, Orochimaru. Double Snake Sacrifice."

Just as she was about to perform the technique that would kill both her and Orochimaru, Orochimaru began to melt into mud. _Damn it!_ Anko swore to herself. _A Mud Clone!_ She managed to pull herself free before the technique could activate and looked around to find Orochimaru. Unfortunately, the mark on her neck burned even more intensely, forcing her to her knees.

"Oh, Anko. You are such a disappointment," Orochimaru remarked as he stepped out of the shadows. "Out of the 10 I tested that seal on, you were the one who had to survive. And you're not even willing to use its power. For shame. But what's done is done. I only ask one thing of you, and that is to ensure these exams continue."

"What the hell?!" Anko yelled. "Whatever you're up to, I'm not going to let you do it!"

"You'll let me do it, because if you don't, I'll just forget the plan and obliterate Konoha entirely," Orochimaru answered, his smirk turning nasty. "Would you like me to do that? You'd have every reason to say yes, knowing how those ignorant villagers have treated you."

"Screw you . . ."

"Oh, well. I should give you one tip, though. One of your genin isn't what he appears to be. His chakra . . . it is even more pernicious than that of the mightiest Tailed Beast. Farewell, Anko." Orochimaru turned and slipped back into the darkness, leaving Anko alone with the agony the seal was putting her through.

* * *

Elsewhere in the Forest of Death, Teams Arashi and Raiden were fighting the Sound trio. Naruto and Yugito took on Zaku, the boy with sonic tubes in his arms, while Gaara and Haku took on Dosu, the mummy-like boy with the sonic weapon on his arm, and Karasu and Renge fought Kin, the girl with the senbon needles. Zaku unleashed another Slicing Sound Wave, which Naruto and Yugito dodged. With unnatural speed, Yugito slashed Zaku with fiery blue claws and Naruto kicked him in the stomach. Dosu swung his fist at Gaara, who defended himself with a Sand Shield, only for the Melody Arm to activate sonic vibrations that would have destroyed the shield if not for Gaara's sand spirit reinforcing it. At that moment, ice needles flew at Dosu, who deflected them with his Melody Arm only to get attacked by the spirit of the Three-Tailed Demon Turtle.

Kin threw needles with strings attached at Karasu and Renge, attempting to trap them in a net. Renge simply sliced through the strings with her water-chakra swords, while Karasu flew out of the way using a black wing formed from his animal spirit. He dived in for a drop-kick that Kin barely managed to dodge, only to stumble right into Renge's chakra blades. Karasu landed on his hand and spun on it into a kick that impacted Kin's stomach, sending her flying backward. Undeterred, Kin threw more needles at him and Renge, only for Renge to deflect the needles with her chakra swords.

"You guys aren't that tough, are you?" Yugito mocked. "I guess Sound really is pathetic, if this is the quality of genin it's sending here."

"Shut up, bitch!" Zaku snarled. "Extreme Slicing Sound Wave!" Firing a powered-up version of the Slicing Sound Wave, he certainly caused a lot of collateral damage . . . but that damage hardly touched Naruto or Yugito, whose Tailed Beast spirits were charging toward Zaku to basically maul him. As both Tailed Beasts were made out of vaguely fiery chakra, the mauling hurt even worse than it would have from a regular animal. Zaku barely managed to escape them, and he was still not in the best condition.

"These guys . . . they're too much for us!" Dosu exclaimed.

"Screw you!" Kin yelled. "If you wanna run like a bitch, do it! I'm going to finish these guys!"

"You? Finish us?" Karasu asked. "That's a good joke. I might just spare you for the entertainment value alone."

Kin glared at Karasu and threw a series of needles with attached strings around him, hoping to box him in. Karasu simply summoned his one raven wing and launched himself into the air again, evading Kin's needles. He came down for another drop kick, only for Kin to sidestep him. Undeterred, Karasu twisted around into another kick, only for Kin to block that. Karasu smirked and launched his raven spirit in an attack on Kin, knocking her back.

"Time to finish this," Renge said, crossing her swords. She formed her Isonade spirit into a platform of water that she glided on at high speed to reach Kin. Once she had done so, the platform of water turned into a water spiral surrounding Kin that Renge slid on to slice at the Sound genin with her swords repeatedly. Ending the attack with a slide away from Kin, Renge crossed her swords triumphantly.

"I'm not done . . . yet . . ." Kin groaned, fighting her way to her feet despite her wounds. Notwithstanding her desire to keep fighting, Zaku and Dosu picked her up and ran away from the Beast genin.

* * *

"Damn it," Naruto swore. "We didn't even get their scroll."

"Would they have had the scroll we needed?" Gaara asked rhetorically.

"Oh," Naruto conceded in realization. "Good point."

"There'll be other genin here," Yugito brought up. "Perhaps _they'll _provide more of a challenge."

"What about those Sand ninja?" Naruto suggested. "The girls seem like they'll put up a good fight. Dunno about Kabuki boy."

Gaara looked at Naruto somewhat warily. "Sand shinobi are not to be taken lightly, Naruto, even with the skills and powers at our disposal."

Just then, a chill ran down Naruto's spine. It didn't take more than a look at the other Beast genin to realize that they felt the same chill. As one, they turned to find the source of the chill they had felt, none other than Sasuke Uchiha . . . the vessel of the Infernal Dragon himself. It didn't help matters much that Sasuke was smirking at them all, his eyes glittering red with the Sharingan to create an even more terrifying effect.

"So you're the little Beast genin Sakura was so worried about," he remarked. "You don't look all that impressive, even if five of you are supposed to be Jinchuriki." He scoffed. "Tailed Beasts are nothing compared to _my_ might."

"That isn't your might," Naruto retorted. "That's Dai Shi's and the more you rely on it, the more he'll twist your mind!"

"It doesn't matter," Sasuke answered. "As long as I have the power to claim my desire, nothing matters. Nothing."

"You fool," Yugito spat.

"_I'm_ the fool? You're the ones who think they can take me through team spirit." He laughed. "You wanted to fight me? I'm right here . . . and I know _you_ were dying to fight me for real, Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto raised his left forearm, twisting the dial on his Strike Morpher until it hit zero. "Beast-Fist Strike Change!" Slamming the medal on his morpher, Naruto charged Sasuke as burning red chakra exploded from the device and engulfed him. By the time Naruto's fist was caught by Sasuke's hand, Naruto was morphed . . . and so was Sasuke, who repelled Naruto with a burst of infernal chakra. Naruto flipped backward and landed in an agile crouch from which he slowly rose to his full height.

Naruto was no longer wearing his customary red-and-black jacket and black pants. Instead, he wore what appeared to be a skintight black body-glove with many red armored panels over it, one over his chest with the Beast Village symbol in the center, two over the left and right sides of his back, ridged armor over his shoulders and forearms. His feet and lower legs were encased in what seemed to be standard shinobi boots, only the toes and heels were covered in red armored panels and red guard panels covered his shins and knees. An armored red kunai pouch was wrapped around his right thigh, a sheathed ninja sword was attached to his back between the armored panels on his back, and his head was protected by a red helmet stylistically resembling a fox's head.

"With the rage of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox . . . Blaze Soul Ranger."

Sasuke was in his armored state as well, a skintight dark red body-glove with golden bracers designed to resemble dragon's heads, black boots with golden greaves also designed to resemble dragon's heads, and a gold shield over his chest with a diamond shape in the center. A black belt with the Uchiha clan symbol engraved in the buckle wrapped around his waist, and gold bands wrapped around his upper arms. His head was protected by a black helmet with a golden visor and mouth-plate resembling a knight's visor.

"Burning with the power of the Underworld Release . . . Crimson Dragon."

With a burst of inhuman speed, Sasuke charged Naruto and kicked him in his armored chest, the kick impacting with enough force to throw Naruto into and through a tree. As Naruto rolled to his feet, Sasuke went after him again, only for Naruto to block Sasuke's kick with his armored forearms. Sasuke flipped over Naruto's head and moved to strike him again, but Naruto twisted around and kicked him in the solar plexus, forcing him back. Naruto rose to his feet and pulled out three kunai from his pouch, throwing them at Sasuke, who swatted them out of the air as he stalked toward Naruto.

Naruto drew his ninja sword and placed his other hand just above the hilt, concentrating the Kyubi's chakra into the blade. He swung his blade at Sasuke, who merely caught it with what had to be a contemptuous smirk beneath his helmet. A second later, his foot had smashed into Naruto's stomach with so much force that Naruto practically crumpled before him.

"Loser," Sasuke spat. "This is what those fools in the Order of the Claw send against me?"

Yugito roared like a lioness, fiery blue chakra surrounding her and forming into the shape of the Nekomata. "_**You'll pay for harming Naruto-kun,**_" she vowed, charging at Sasuke. "_**Beast-Fist Strike Change!**_"

The Nekomata's spirit fused with Yugito as she ran, the blue chakra exploding and then dispersing to reveal Yugito in an armored suit similar to Naruto's. The major differences were that the guard panels were a vivid blue as opposed to Naruto's bright red and her helmet was shaped like a cat instead of a fox. She leaped into a flying kick that Sasuke blocked by raising his forearm, only for Yugito to flip over his head and land beside Naruto.

"Are you all right, Naruto?" she asked.

"I'll live," Naruto answered in a strained voice. "But I feel like I got hit with a ten-ton hammer."

"I'll make him pay for that," Yugito snarled, rising to her feet. "With the sharp claws of the Two-Tailed Demon Cat . . . Twin Soul Ranger."

"Another one," Sasuke sneered. "Hopefully you're more of a challenge than the loser turned out to be."

Yugito smiled darkly beneath her helmet and drew her ninja sword, stalking toward Sasuke. Charging the sword with the blue fires of the Nekomata's power, Yugito slashed at Sasuke with brutally precise yet incredibly controlled movements. Sasuke took each and every one of her strikes without flinching, up until she was about to make the killing strike . . . which he blocked. With a vicious roundhouse kick, Sasuke sent Yugito tumbling to the ground, although she sprang onto her feet like a cat.

"Is that all you've got, pretty boy?" she taunted. "Because if it is, _you're_ the loser!"

Sasuke growled as an aura of noxious chakra formed around him, taking the shape of a truly terrible beast. "No. That isn't all I have. You'll see that right now." Quickly going through hand seals, Sasuke shouted, "Underworld Release: Immortal Dragon's Breath!" From his mouth-plate issued a jet of terrible black fire headed straight for Yugito, who simply recharged her sword with blue fire and held it ready, as though intending to slice through Sasuke's attack.

"Yugito!" Naruto shouted, dashing in front of her and knocking her back. While that action pushed Yugito out of immediate harm, it also put Naruto directly in the path of Immortal Dragon's Breath . . . and his armor did not offer enough protection against such a hell-spawned technique.

"Naruto!" Yugito screamed.

When the attack exhausted itself, Naruto was standing in a severely scorched Ranger uniform and looking as though he was barely standing at all. To the surprise of everyone present, he simply snickered. "Is this the power of Dai Shi? I was expecting something a little more impressive than some jumped-up Katon jutsu."

"Don't even try to play tough," Sasuke sneered. "We all know it's only sheer force of will that's keeping you standing."

"That's right . . . and if you can't break that will . . . then you're not nearly as powerful as you think you are," Naruto retorted.

"Enough standing on the sidelines," Haku murmured, twisting the dial on her Strike Morpher until it went to zero. Slapping the medal on the device, she shouted, "Beast-Fist Strike Change!" Immediately, icy chakra swirled around her, briefly forming into the shape of the Three-Tailed Demon Turtle before engulfing her and then dispersing to reveal her Ranger form. Her armor, like Naruto's and Yugito's, was a black body-glove with colored armored panels over her chest, back, shoulders, forearms, knees, shins, and feet, but those panels were colored snowy white and her helmet was styled after a turtle's head.

"With the swiftness of the Three-Tailed Demon Turtle . . . Ice Soul Ranger."

Gaara and Renge also activated their Strike Morphers with the same call of, "Beast-Fist Strike Change!" Immediately, sand swirled around Gaara and a surge of watery chakra engulfed Renge. When the sand and water dispersed, both were in Ranger armor, Gaara's colored sandy yellow and Renge's colored sea green. Gaara's helmet was styled after a raccoon dog and Renge's was styled after a shark.

"With the implacability of the One-Tailed Shukaku . . . Desert Soul Ranger."

"With the grace of the Seven-Tailed Isonade . . . Ocean Soul Ranger."

"Might as well see if this thing works," Karasu mumbled to himself, holding the necklace that the Sentinel Knight had told him was a Spirit Amplifier. Raising the necklace to the sky, he shouted, "Spirit Transform!" Immediately, purplish-black chakra flared around Karasu and took the shape of a giant raven, which wrapped its wings around Karasu and dispersed to reveal a figure in black armor with a helmet styled vaguely like a raven's open beak with a large opaque visor keeping it open. The armor was decorated with wing-like designs on the back and feathery highlights on the sides. "It works after all."

"And who are you supposed to be?" Sasuke taunted Karasu.

Karasu's answer was to summon raven-like chakra wings and fly into an attack on Sasuke, who blocked the Raven-Fist user's attack. Not one to be deterred, Karasu twisted into a kick that Sasuke barely blocked. Karasu jumped out of the way to avoid the ice needles that Haku threw at Sasuke, which Sasuke dodged. Unfortunately for him, those ice needles were little more than a distraction that allowed Haku to dash in for a surprisingly brutal attack on Sasuke. With a final kick, the Ice Soul Ranger knocked the Crimson Dragon down.

Gaara directed his sand to attack Sasuke, intending to grind him into a fine paste. Unfortunately for him, Sasuke had other plans, as proven by him rising to his feet and turning the sand into glass with what amounted to hellfire. Shattering the glass with a brutal punch, Sasuke charged at Gaara and spun into a vicious kick, which Gaara blocked. Retaliating with a roundhouse punch, Gaara forced Sasuke back and pursued his brief window of advantage with a series of fast punches, which stopped when Sasuke grabbed his fist and threw him into a tree.

Renge drew her Isonade Swords and slashed at Sasuke with them, only for Sasuke to block her blades with his gauntleted hands. With a vicious kick, he knocked her down, but Renge sprang onto her feet and combined her swords into one dual-bladed staff. She swung the staff at Sasuke, only for Sasuke to trap the end she'd swung at him between his arm and side. Renge threw herself into a flying kick, managing to reclaim her staff and slash at Sasuke again with it. Sasuke retaliated for her attack with an, "Underworld Release: Infernal Phoenix Flower!"

Multiple blackish-red fireballs flew at Renge, who sliced through them with her bifurcated Isonade Swords only to find that there were shuriken hidden in the fireballs, shuriken that sliced at her as they passed. Just as she was getting her bearings, Sasuke had darted behind her and kicked her to the ground. Sasuke was about to finish her off with a hellfire-charged punch, but Renge blocked his punch and caught his body with her leg, kicking him away from her. Sasuke rolled to his feet, as did Renge, and the two faced off.

"Don't you know it's rude to hit a lady when she's down?" Renge taunted.

Just then, the other Rangers and Karasu gathered around Renge, also ready to fight. Sasuke straightened up, smirking coldly at them beneath his helmet. "Time to finish this. My team will be waking up soon enough, and I have little time left to waste on you."

"Yeah," Naruto spat. "Let's finish this."

Infernal chakra blazed around Sasuke, taking the shape of a terrible draconic monster. The Rangers and Karasu tapped into their beast spirits, which took shape around them and hovered above them; Gaara's particular beast spirit took a physical form out of his sand. The Rangers and Karasu launched their beast spirits at Sasuke, who simply leaped into the air and launched himself into a flying kick while engulfed in the evil dragon's aura. To the shock of the Rangers and Karasu, Sasuke _kicked right through_ their beast spirits and struck Naruto's chest with so much force that when he hit the ground, he was knocked out of Ranger form and scorch marks were visible all over his clothes and face.

Sasuke landed. "There. Unless you wish to end up in the same condition as him, you'll not bother me again until we reach the tower." He turned away and walked into the shadows of the forest, powering down as he did so and leaving the other Beast genin to attend to Naruto.

Yugito and Haku reached Naruto first, followed by Renge, Gaara, and Karasu, all five powering down from their armored states. "Naruto," Haku whispered, cradling his head in her arms.

"Haku . . ." Naruto murmured. "I'll be fine . . ."

* * *

At that moment, Team 8 – Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuga, and Kiba Inuzuka – showed themselves, having hidden behind a nearby bush to watch the fight. Expressions of shock, fright, and horror alternated on Kiba's face, while Shino's stoic expression betrayed nothing of the questions broiling inside him. Hinata only had eyes for the injured Naruto, silently ashamed of herself for being too weak to stop hiding and stop Sasuke from hurting Naruto.

"I . . . I have some healing ointment . . ." she murmured, pulling the small jar out of her coat pocket. "If it can help him . . ."

"Thank you, Hinata," Haku answered.

"Hinata, what are you doing?" Kiba asked.

"Helping him," Hinata replied as she gave the jar of healing ointment to Haku.

"We'll have to see to those burns," Haku said to Naruto.

"I'll heal . . ." Naruto protested.

"From regular fire, maybe . . . but that was not regular fire," Yugito interjected.

"What kind of fire was Sasuke using, anyway?" Kiba asked. "And what the hell were those armor summons, while we're at it?"

"The Underworld Release," Shino replied. "I've heard the legends."

"Legends?" Kiba repeated.

"Yes," Shino confirmed. "The Underworld Release is an ancient and forbidden style of ninjutsu, forbidden precisely because of its demonic origins."

"You mean there is such a thing as demon ninja? _Real_ demon ninja?"

"At least an underworld equivalent. The Underworld Release transforms demonic chakra into fire and lightning, but of a kind darker and stronger than conventional fire and lightning chakra."

As this exchange was happening between Kiba and Shino, Haku had unzipped and removed Naruto's jacket, revealing the black shirt he wore underneath. "You're going to have to take that off," she said.

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"Because the burns run deeper than just your clothes," Haku replied. "And it's either that or I slice your shirt open."

"Fine," Naruto grumbled. He straightened up just enough so that he could remove his shirt, leaving himself completely bare-chested . . . and Hinata turning redder than a cherry from seeing him shirtless. Despite the burns marring his skin, nobody present could deny that he was in fine physical condition.

Quickly putting aside her own lustful thoughts, Haku opened the jar of healing ointment Hinata had given her and took some of it onto her hands. After warming the ointment by rubbing it between her hands, Haku placed those hands on Naruto and began to rub the ointment into his wounds. Naruto let his head fall back slightly, his expression becoming more relaxed as Haku touched him. He bit his tongue to prevent himself from making any embarrassing noises; she was just doing what a good friend or medic-nin would do, after all.

Yugito glowered slightly at Haku. As much as she liked the gentle ice ninja, she couldn't deny that she felt jealous of the way Haku's hands roamed over Naruto's body. She wondered if she should brush up on her medical ninjutsu, if only to get an opportunity to touch Naruto the way Haku was. She had to admit, though, Haku was good at what she did, and she'd sooner trust the Three-Tails jinchuriki with Naruto than anyone else.

"Are you feeling better now, Naruto-kun?" Haku asked.

"Yeah," Naruto replied, as the ointment accelerated his formerly prodigious healing abilities to their original efficiency. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Haku said.

Naruto looked at Hinata. "You helped me . . . again. Why?"

Hinata's face flushed a pretty red. "I . . . I wanted to . . ."

"Never mind," Naruto brushed it off. "Thank you."

"Who are you guys, anyway?" Kiba cut in. "What the hell is going on here?"

"If we tell you . . . you can't tell anyone else," Gaara answered. "Tell your sensei if you wish. Warn the Hokage. Our own sensei have most likely done that already."

"If Sasuke's using demon ninjutsu, there's more at stake than just your secrets," Shino observed.

"You wanna know?" Haku answered. "We'll tell you. We're from the Order of the Claw, an organization of ninja who rely on spiritual harmony with the animals for their style of taijutsu, called Beast-Fist. Long ago, the Order imprisoned a terrible monster, even stronger and even worse than the Tailed Beasts of legend. This monster was Dai Shi, the Ten-Headed Infernal Dragon . . . and he has broken free, and possessed your comrade Sasuke Uchiha."

"So that's where he was pulling out that demon fire," Kiba concluded. "Wait. You said he was possessed. Does that mean . . . ?"

"Not quite," Haku replied. "He is possessed, but not fully dominated. He retains a degree of his own will, which influences Dai Shi even as Dai Shi's power poisons his mind."

"And what about you?" Shino asked. "The beast spirits you unleashed to counter his attack resembled Tailed Beasts."

"That is true," Haku admitted. "Five of us are living prisons for Tailed Beasts. Through the training of the Order of the Claw, we have learned to harness their power to protect those around us instead of contributing to the destruction that a monster like Dai Shi would wreak upon this world." She held up the wrist that bore her Strike Morpher. "These devices on our wrists allow us to tap into a power even greater than that of the Tailed Beasts, a power that encircles and infuses all of creation, the power of the Morphing Grid."

"Morphing Grid?" Hinata repeated.

"Yeah," Yugito confirmed. "It's how we summoned those armored suits you saw us in when we were fighting. The power of the Grid maximizes our fighting capabilities by uploading eons of warrior knowledge and prowess into our cells, which manifests as our suits. When we're in the suits, we're called Rangers."

"Shinobi Rangers," Shino murmured. "Now that . . . is interesting."

"Yeah, but what are we going to do about Sasuke?" Kiba asked. "If he's got some kind of hell monster inside of him amping him up and driving him bat-guano, too . . ."

"Whatever he's up to, we won't let him do it," Naruto answered decisively. "You can believe that."

* * *

Meanwhile, as Sasuke walked back to where he'd placed the unconscious bodies of his teammates, he gritted his teeth against the pain in his chest. No, the pain didn't come from anything Naruto or any of the other Rangers had done to him. While his powers were growing, his body wasn't necessarily strengthening enough to handle them yet. He felt a mixture of bile and blood rising in his throat, and he forced it down through sheer will.

When he saw three Sound genin dangerously close to Sakura and Sai, his eyes narrowed and his Sharingan flared to life. Forgetting his weakness, Sasuke sped toward the Sound genin and when he became visible again, he had kicked both of the Sound boys down. "Going after a pair of ninja too unconscious to fight you. Filthy cowards."

The Sound girl threw senbon with strings attached at and around Sasuke, attempting to entrap him. With lightning reflexes, Sasuke dodged her senbon and appeared behind her, brutally chopping her in the back of her head and thus knocking her out. By then, her teammates had recovered from his initial attack. The boy with the shock of dark bluish hair raised his hands, almost as in surrender . . . only to reveal circular vents in his palms, from which he fired a blast of sonic force that also propelled the air molecules it displaced at high speed.

To the blue-haired boy's shock, the sonic wave hadn't vaporized Sasuke, Sakura, and Sai as he figured it would. Instead, Sasuke had quickly carried Sakura and Sai to safety . . . and was now attacking the Sound boy. In no more than two vicious hits, he was down, but that wasn't enough for Sasuke. No, the bastard had to suffer, and to that end, Sasuke grabbed him by his arms while pressing his foot on his back.

"You're proud of these arms, aren't you?" Sasuke taunted. "Yes, there is power in these arms . . . but not nearly enough to even think of going against me."

"You bastard . . ." the boy snarled.

"Names don't matter," Sasuke sneered, pushing down hard on the boy's back with his foot as he pulled just as hard in the opposite direction on his arms.

"No . . . stop . . ." the boy pleaded as soon as he recognized what Sasuke was trying to do.

The boy wasn't the only one who recognized it; Sakura had woken up just in time to see a bloodthirsty Sasuke in the process of practically ripping the Sound genin's arms out of their sockets. She looked at Sasuke in horror, wondering, _What's happened to him? Why is he doing this? That . . . that isn't my Sasuke!_

Almost not realizing that she had spoken it aloud, she cried out, "_Stop!!_" She put on a burst of speed to reach Sasuke, wrapping her arms around his waist and squeezing tightly. "Stop it, please! You've already stopped them from hurting me and Sai! That's enough!"

"No, Sakura . . . it isn't enough," Sasuke murmured coldly. "It won't be enough until everyone who dares raise a hand against me knows better than to do so."

"This isn't who you are!" Sakura protested. "You're not a monster who just hurts people for no reason!"

That gave Sasuke pause, something that infuriated Dai Shi. _**What the hell do you think you're doing? Don't let this slip of a girl get to you. You're**_** my**_** vessel, my **_**emissary. **_**To truly be ready for my power, you must forsake these petty attachments that keep you weak!**_

_No . . . I won't . . . hurt Sakura . . . she's my comrade._

_**Comrades? Who needs such things? Power is the only thing that makes a difference in this or any other world! Forget her!**_

_I . . . _won't.

Sasuke threw the Sound boy aside, his arms dislocated but not quite ripped out of their sockets. "Get out of here . . ." he snarled. "Before I change my mind . . ."

The other Sound boy, this one in mummy-like bandages that hid his face save for his right eye, went to his fallen teammates and carried them away. As he did, he mumbled to himself, "What the hell were you sending us up against, Lord Orochimaru?"

Sasuke growled lowly. "Orochimaru . . . is that . . . that monster who came after us?"

_**It doesn't matter, Sasuke Uchiha. I will grant you this one act of defiance. But be forewarned, my blessing can and will become a curse if you do not stay true to The Infernal Path. The Path is the only way you can achieve enough power to annihilate the object of your hatred.**_

Sasuke heard a low, rumbling chuckle within his mind. _Yes. Him . . ._

_**This Orochimaru is strong, strong enough to be useful. When the time comes, seek him out.**_

_To what? Learn from him?_

_**No. To take all he has to offer, and then take everything else from him, to make it serve you instead of him.**_

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked. "Are you . . ."

Sasuke affected a smile, his Sharingan fading into his normal dark gray eyes. "Yes, Sakura. I'm all right. And . . . I'm sorry I frightened you."

Just then, Sai woke up. "So? Did I miss anything good?"

"No, you didn't," Sasuke answered. "Just some miserable punks who bit off more than they could chew."

"Like a porn star choking on some guy's . . ." Sai was cut off by a glare from Sakura.

Sasuke cleared his throat. "We should get going. Find somewhere to rest for the night, and then go to capture a scroll once we're sufficiently rested."

"Whatever," Sai said.

"Sure," Sakura said.

While Sakura and Sai rested, Sasuke stared up into the night sky, his Sharingan blazing again and an infernal red-gold aura surrounding him. _I'll find you, you bastard . . . and when I do, you'll be dead. For what you did to our family, you'll be dead. That's a promise._

* * *

End Notes: There you have it. For those of you who kept asking when Naruto and company were gonna morph, they've done it. Of course, when their first opponent is the ultimate incarnation of destruction and carnage, morphing alone might not be enough to cut it. Also, I'm sure you already know through the actual canon who Sasuke sold his soul to Dai Shi in order to kill, but I'm going to keep it mysterious in here a little while longer (although you know already, it's just more fun this way). On the pairing front, it seems Naruto's getting closer with Haku and Hinata; Haku helped him heal, and Hinata not only gave Haku the healing ointment that enabled her to heal Naruto, but she also knows his secret now. Except how long will the Rangers' secret remain secret, and how long can Sasuke keep his true intentions under wraps? For the answers to those questions and others, you'll just have to read on, but thank you for coming to this point and I hope you enjoyed.


	5. May He Send Death

"Bijuken Sentai Retsuranger"

"Tailed Beast-Fist Squadron Strike Rangers"

Chapter 5: "May He Send Death"

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, Viz, and Shonen Jump. Power Rangers belongs to Disney/BVS, formerly Saban Entertainment. Super Sentai belongs to Toei. I am not any of the entities or persons listed above, nor do I hold any controlling interest in the above products. My only profit is the enjoyment I get from writing these stories.

Author's note: Sorry I've been away for a while. Don't you worry about a thing, though; I've been sharpening up, and things are going to get good now. After all, the preliminary matches are just about to start. What dangerous new powers will be revealed? What fateful grudges will come to light? Who will be the triumphant winners of this contest . . . or will there be anyone around to actually win?

* * *

Sarutobi looked at Anko. "So you're telling me that Orochimaru has darkened our doorstep once again, and he's threatening to destroy our village if we stop the Chunin Exams."

"Basically," Anko answered. "Sorry I couldn't get him."

Sarutobi shook his head. "You did the best you could. Orochimaru has simply gotten more dangerous in the time he's been absent from this village. But I am curious as to his warning about one of our genin not being what he seemed."

"Yeah, that's what he said," Anko confirmed. "Something about that kid's chakra being more toxic than anything he'd ever encountered."

"I think I know what he was talking about," Sarutobi said.

Anko looked up at Sarutobi with interest. "What, exactly?"

"If I tell you, you cannot tell anyone else," Sarutobi instructed. "This is an S-class secret."

"I won't tell anyone," Anko vowed.

"The Hidden Beast jonin-sensei – R.J. and Kirabi – warned me when they entered this village about the Ten-Headed Infernal Dragon Dai Shi," Sarutobi explained. "Apparently, their village was tasked with guarding his prison and he somehow found a way to escape. As his physical body was destroyed, the only way he could act on Earth was to take a human vessel, and that vessel, according to R.J. and Kirabi, happened to be one of our genin. Which one it is, I do not know . . ."

"Damn," Anko muttered. "Those Hidden Beast kids . . . what do you think they have to do with this?"

"They're here to find Dai Shi and stop him, before he starts another Beast War," Sarutobi answered.

Anko looked past Sarutobi, at the wall holding up framed pictures of the previous Hokages. The picture her eyes locked on was that of a young blond man who bore a great resemblance to a certain Hidden Beast genin. "You think it's him?"

"Him who?" Sarutobi asked, before turning to look at the picture. "I see." Guilt increased the weight of his head on his shoulders.

"The kid looked a lot like him," Anko remarked. "Nothing crazy like reincarnation, but I was thinking . . ."

Sarutobi didn't hear much of what Anko was saying. _I'm sorry, Minato. I failed you, and I failed your boy. I only hope that, wherever you are, you can forgive me._

* * *

Five days had passed since the second round of the Chunin Exams began, and in those five days, eight teams had made it to the tower at the end of the Forest of Death. In that tower, in the balcony above, the Konoha jonin-sensei, the Daiju jonin-sensei, the Suna jonin-sensei Baki, and the Oto jonin-sensei stood. The Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stood on the raised platform on the floor of the tower, garbed in his formal wear.

"Greetings," Sarutobi said. "I am proud of you for the progress you've made so far in these Chunin Exams."

"What's the point of the Chunin Exams, anyway?" Kiba Inuzuka, of Team 8, asked.

"I'm glad you asked that," Sarutobi replied. "You see, the Chunin Exams are our replacement for war. Instead of senselessly wasting human lives to prove our own strength, we prove our strength through these competitions. In this instance, everybody wins, in the sense that each village that participates gets the opportunity to demonstrate the might and skill of their shinobi without having to wage war on other villages."

"Sounds like a good idea," Naruto Uzumaki, of Team Arashi, remarked.

"There are 24 genin who have made it this far," Sarutobi stated. "That is a little too many, so we will have to trim the numbers a bit. The best way is a preliminary contest. Two genin will be called at random to compete. One will walk away victorious. Short of outright killing your opponent, you are allowed to do whatever it takes to facilitate that opponent's defeat or surrender. The rest of you will clear the arena so that the two who are fighting can do so without interference."

Just then, a young Konoha jonin with a sickly pallor emerged. "My name is Hayate Gekko, and I will be the proctor for this part of the Chunin Exams."

Above them all, a screen flickered to life and flashed two names: _Sasuke Uchiha_ and _Haku Hyoren._ Hayate coughed once and instructed the other genin to clear the arena, which they did. While this was going on, Naruto passed by Haku and whispered, "Good luck."

"Thank you, Naruto," Haku murmured.

By the time they'd all gotten on the balcony, Naruto, Gaara, Yugito, Renge, Karasu, R.J., and Kirabi stared down at the arena with worry and fear written all over their faces. "I'm getting a bad feeling about this," Renge whispered.

"So am I," R.J. agreed.

"Yeah, this is going to be f$#%& rough," Kirabi said. "But our snow bunny's pretty tough."

Sasuke and Haku stared each other down, waiting for Hayate to give the signal to begin. Once he did, both demonically empowered genin jumped back from each other, throwing kunai and senbon at each other. The kunai and senbon deflected each other, while Sasuke flashed behind Haku and swung his arm in a chop. Fortunately, Haku had fast reflexes and whirled to block his strike, slamming her knee into his stomach. Sasuke skidded backward, only to spin on one foot and use his outstretched leg to throw an arc of flame at Haku, who leaped into the air to dodge.

Haku threw more senbon at Sasuke while in midair, but he swept his arm out and generated another arc of flame that deflected the senbon. Haku descended in a drop-kick that caught Sasuke in the chest, knocking him into a wall. Sasuke rebounded off the wall and landed on his hands and knees. Slowly straightening up, he cracked the bones in his neck. Quickly performing the required hand seals, Sasuke unleashed the Grand Fireball on Haku, who dodged it and opened one of her water bottles, spilling water all over the arena.

"Does she really think a little water's going to stop Sasuke?" Ino asked.

Renge chuckled. "A little water, in this case, can do a lot. Your boyfriend isn't as invincible as you think."

Quickly performing one-handed seals, Haku unleashed her secret weapon, none other than . . . "Secret Technique: Demonic Crystal Ice Mirrors." Immediately, the water Haku had spilled coalesced into a dome of twenty-one ice mirrors enclosing herself and Sasuke.

"Mirrors?" Sasuke asked. "You intend to fight me with mirrors?"

"Yes," Haku answered simply, walking "into" one of the mirrors. She seemed to meld with the mirror, becoming her own reflection . . . and then other reflections of her appeared in the other mirrors, until Sasuke was surrounded by Haku.

"A clone technique," Sasuke scoffed.

"Something else," Haku replied, as all of her reflections raised three senbon each in their fists. All of her reflections threw their senbon . . . and a storm of senbon emerged from the mirrors, cutting Sasuke before he could react in time to evade them.

"What kind of technique is this?" Sasuke asked.

"That is my secret," Haku answered. "And you will not figure it out before I defeat you."

"We'll see about that," Sasuke retorted. With vicious arm motions, Sasuke unleashed hellfire on the mirrors . . . which did not break, but instead cracked. "Looks like you've overestimated your powers."

"And so have you," Haku answered. "Even if you can damage my mirrors, you will not be able to break them in time to stop me."

"You think highly of yourself, don't you?" Sasuke remarked.

"No more highly than you think of yourself, Sasuke Uchiha," Haku retorted.

Another rain of senbon came down on Sasuke, who deflected as many of them as he could with his kunai. Unfortunately, the senbon came so heavily and so quickly that there was no way he could deflect them all . . . not unless . . . Closing his eyes for a moment, he snapped them open to reveal the Sharingan, allowing him to perceive and exploit the momentary gaps in the coming of the senbon. Blocking more quickly and dodging more precisely, Sasuke began to smirk evilly.

"I see now," Sasuke snarled. "This isn't a clone technique. You're just using the mirrors to speed yourself up, like some kind of diffraction ability."

"Just because you can see . . ." Haku answered, and before Sasuke knew it, he was surrounded by multiple Hakus striking him from multiple angles and positions. Before he could properly retaliate, the Hakus had dispersed back into the Ice Mirrors, leaving Sasuke to fall to the ground from the assault they had dealt him.

"I think it's time I stopped holding back with you . . ." Sasuke hissed. Summoning the Underworld Release, Sasuke launched a dragon-shaped wave of unholy flame at Haku's Ice Mirrors, which again withstood the assault but showed more cracks. "I'm weakening you, aren't I? The closer those mirrors get to breaking, the less chance you have of beating me. Better finish me quick . . . before I get my second wind."

"I can't see what's going on in there," Sakura said. "Where's that fire coming from?"

Kakashi shuddered. "It's . . . it's coming from Sasuke."

"His clan specializes in fire techniques," Sai offered.

"Yes, but this isn't that kind of fire . . . it feels . . . eviler," Kakashi answered.

"Damn it," R.J. mumbled. "Looks like he's getting the hang of Dai Shi's power."

"I just hope Haku's gonna come out all right," Kirabi muttered. "Otherwise, it ain't gonna be a pretty sight."

"Come on, Haku," Naruto whispered. "You can do it. Take him down."

Haku used the Ice Mirrors for another blitz attack on Sasuke, her images cutting away at Sasuke with senbon over and over. Sasuke swung his fist in an arc, grinding it against the air molecules it parted to ignite them in unholy fire that assaulted Haku. Haku managed to only be grazed by the flames, but even that sent an unnatural chill through her body. She was just about to retreat into the Ice Mirrors, but Sasuke grabbed her arm and threw her to the ground. Haku rolled onto her feet and held up three senbon needles in her fist.

"I'm going to give you a chance to keep your life," Sasuke taunted. "Just forfeit."

"No," Haku answered. "I will not surrender to the likes of you."

"Then you'll suffer," Sasuke declared. "Confrontation Art: Ten-Head Beast-Fist Riot Missile!"

Sasuke's chakra aura formed into ten draconic heads, all of which stared at Haku as though she were simply meat to be fed to them. Haku glared at Sasuke and his terrifying aura, refusing to back down from the monstrosity before her. The ten draconic heads lunged at Haku simultaneously and from multiple angles, with Haku dodging each one with incredible speed and agility. However, she knew she couldn't hold out like this forever . . . and she would have to unleash her trump card.

"Fierce Art: Three-Tails Beast-Fist Riot Bullet!" Haku shouted, unleashing the spirit of the Three-Tailed Demon Turtle upon the ten heads that were the avatars of Dai Shi's power. With incredible speed, the Three-Tailed spirit attacked the ten draconic heads, managing to strike down four of them. The other six redoubled their efforts and one grabbed the Three-Tailed spirit in its jaws, biting down viciously to force it to dissipate.

With a pained cry, Haku collapsed onto one knee, clutching her shoulder. The remaining draconic heads lunged at her, intending to eat her alive, but Haku retreated into an Ice Mirror, her image soon reflected in all the Ice Mirrors. The images in the mirrors all threw senbon at Sasuke, whose aura deflected the senbon and the draconic heads that aura had formed into lunged at the mirrors, smashing several of them. Haku lunged out of one of the breaking mirrors and dropped into a kick to Sasuke, which turned out to be a glancing hit. Skidding to the ground, Haku whirled on her foot to kick Sasuke again, although Sasuke managed to block it.

"Not bad," Sasuke remarked. "You're a lot more fun than I thought you'd be."

"I'm not here to entertain you," Haku sneered. "I'm here to stop you."

"Stop me?" Sasuke repeated derisively. "You can't even touch me."

Haku flipped back from Sasuke and gathered the fragments of her shattered Ice Mirrors to her primary arm, fusing together into a sword blade with her arm as the hilt. "We'll see about that."

"I suppose we'll decide this in one strike," Sasuke announced. "Here's how it works. We charge each other and strike as we pass. Then, ten seconds later, one of us will fall to the ground completely incapacitated. Take a wild guess who that one will be." He gathered the unholy flames of the Underworld Release into his hand and then extended those flames into a sword blade.

Haku and Sasuke sped toward each other, their respective chakra-forged swords ready to cut each other down. In a blur of motion, the two combatants passed each other and landed on opposite sides of the combat area. Sasuke turned out to be the first to collapse, falling on one knee. But it was Haku who had lost . . . as her ice sword broke down completely and she collapsed entirely, slowly bleeding out on the floor.

* * *

"HAKU!" Naruto screamed, leaping off the balcony and rushing to her. He turned her over and saw her face, strained with the effort it took to stay awake.

"Naruto . . ." she murmured. "I'm sorry . . . I couldn't . . ."

"It's ok, Haku," Naruto whispered. "It's gonna be all right."

"Winner: Sasuke Uchiha," Hayate declared.

"I'm sorry I wounded your girlfriend," Sasuke sneered. "But this is what you can expect when you try to fight someone stronger than you."

Naruto gritted his teeth in rage, his blue eyes flashing a slit-pupil crimson. "We _are_ going to stop you."

"You and what army?" Sasuke taunted.

Just then, medical ninja came to attend to Haku. "Don't worry," one of them said to Naruto while the others placed Haku on the stretcher. "She'll get the best of care."

"Thank you . . ." Naruto whispered while the medical ninja took Haku away.

"Will all noncombatants vacate the arena?" Hayate asked.

Sasuke and Naruto went back up to the balcony, but not before Naruto dipped his fingers in Haku's blood and painted his whisker marks with them, a silent reminder of just why Sasuke needed to be taken down. He glared at Sasuke with slit-pupil crimson eyes, communicating a silent promise. _You're not going to get away with what you did to Haku. You hear me, bastard? You're going down for what you did to her._

Sasuke's silent communication was a cold smirk. _Anytime, anyplace, loser,_ the smirk seemed to say.

The screen flashed two more names . . . _Temari Sabakumo vs. Tenten._

* * *

The tall blonde with her hair in four spiky tails and dressed in an off-the-shoulder white combat dress over fishnets with an iron fan on her back leaped off the balcony and into the combat area. A smaller brunette with her hair in twin buns and dressed in a pink mandarin shirt and green shinobi pants leaped into the combat area as well. The two girls faced each other from opposite sides, the blonde with a Sand headband hanging from her neck and the brunette with a Leaf headband wrapped around her forehead.

"Ready? Begin," Hayate called, announcing the start of the match.

Temari, the blonde, drew her iron fan. "Let's make this quick."

"Yeah," Tenten answered with a smirk. She drew a pair of scrolls and began to perform a dance while the scrolls unraveled in a twisting pattern. As she danced, she rose into the air while the scrolls twisted around her body.

"What is that?" Naruto asked.

"You will see," Rock Lee, a boy in tight green spandex with the Leaf headband employed as a belt, answered.

"It is Tenten's most youthful Twin Rising Dragons," Guy, Lee's jonin-sensei and dressed nearly identical to his protégé, supplied.

"Dance?" Gaara asked.

"You'll see," Guy answered.

At the peak of Tenten's dance, multiple throwing weapons of varying styles and shapes emerged from the scrolls, flying at Temari at high speed. Just as they were about to hit her, Temari opened her fan and waved it, generating gale force winds so powerful that the throwing weapons were all repelled. Unfortunately, the winds were also so powerful that they forced everyone on the balcony to hold onto something to avoid being knocked down . . . and Tenten was brutally knocked to the ground.

"What was that?" she asked.

"My Whirlwind Technique," Temari replied coolly. "Would you like to see my Wind Scythe?" She swung her fan again, generating knives of wind that cut at Tenten's exposed skin and her clothes. When the barrage of wind knives ended, Tenten was bleeding from multiple surface cuts.

Tenten smirked. "What's this? Death of a thousand cuts? You'll have to do better than that."

The throwing weapons unleashed by the Twin Rising Dragons began to rise, lifted by thin wires held by Tenten. With sweeping hand motions akin to an orchestra conductor, Tenten used the wires to throw her weapons at Temari, who retaliated with another Whirlwind Technique that blew Tenten's weapons away from her. Tenten gritted her teeth and lashed out with her wires, seemingly missing Temari by a wide margin.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who needs to step up their game," Temari taunted.

Of course, that was when Temari got herself a surprise, namely the wires looping around and wrapping around her arms, legs, waist, and neck. "Got you," Tenten whispered.

"Not bad . . ." Temari remarked, seemingly completely unfazed by being bound in ultrathin wires that could potentially sever her body parts from each other. "But you forgot one thing."

"And that would be?" Tenten asked.

With a flick of her wrist, Temari generated another Wind Scythe with her fan, this one even stronger than the last had been. The whirlwind caught Tenten and Temari and the invisible knives within the wind sliced them both, much to the consternation of everyone except Kankuro, Matsuri, and Baki.

"A murder-suicide technique?" Shino murmured. "She must be desperate, to pull out something like that."

"Not quite," Matsuri corrected. "Yes, the technique injures Temari as well, but a weaker opponent like Tenten will be crushed by it. Watch."

The observing genin did watch, and noticed that Tenten seemed to be on the verge of collapse, while Temari herself was only wincing at most. Finally, the whirlwind of knives ended . . . and both kunoichi fell to the ground. Temari landed in a crouch, while Tenten seemed to be keeping herself on her hands and knees through sheer force of will. As she struggled to get up again, Temari generated another Wind Scythe, this one directed solely at Tenten . . . and its force threw her toward the wall at a high enough speed that if she hit, she would break nearly every bone in her body.

Lee jumped off the balcony to catch Tenten, and while her body hit him with enough force to knock the wind out of him, it wasn't nearly enough to prevent him from halting her unwilling flight in time to avoid breaking her bones. He looked down at Tenten briefly, and then glared up at Temari. "Why did you do that?!"

Temari smirked coldly at Lee. "She looked like she couldn't even stand. Figured I'd be nice and put her out of her misery."

Hayate briefly coughed. "Winner, Temari Sabakumo."

After the medical ninja took Tenten away, Lee silently clenched his fists as he returned to Guy's side. "That was a needlessly cruel act," he murmured. "I will not stand for it."

Gaara glared at Temari as she returned to her team's side. He'd never known his sister to be this ruthless and brutal, but that had been when they were children . . . and it had been such a long time since they were children. In fact, it had been such a long time since he'd last seen her. Ten years . . . ten long years . . . that they had been apart; there was no way of being sure just how much that had made her change, and how much of the Temari that he had known still remained.

Renge placed a hand on Gaara's shoulder. "You wanna talk about it?" she asked.

"Not really," Gaara answered grimly.

* * *

The screen flickered to life again, and this time it flashed the names _Shikamaru Nara _vs. _Kin Tsuchi._ "Will the combatants step into the arena?" Hayate called.

"Kick her ass, Shika," Choji encouraged.

"Try not to lose," Ino added.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Shikamaru answered as he walked over to the combat area. "God, what a drag."

"Lazy bastard," the dark-haired Sound kunoichi known as Kin Tsuchi grumbled.

"Yeah, yeah," Shikamaru answered. "Let's just get this over with. I hate fighting girls." Just then, Shikamaru heard a strange sound, like a bell ringing. "What the . . . ?" A senbon cut his cheek. "Damn it."

"You might want to pay closer attention, lazy boy," Kin taunted.

Shikamaru dodged another senbon, but the strange sound came again and once again a senbon cut his cheek. "Some kind of . . . genjutsu . . . damn it."

"What do you see, Yugito?" Haku asked.

"It's what I hear, Haku," Yugito replied. "Bells."

"So Shikamaru wasn't just being mind-screwed?" Naruto asked.

"He is," Yugito answered. "But the bells produce some kind of genjutsu."

"Why aren't we being affected?" Karasu asked.

"Because the genjutsu isn't meant for us," Yugito replied.

"But where are the bells?" Karasu inquired.

"I don't know," Yugito admitted.

_How the hell is she making this genjutsu?_ Shikamaru wondered, as he continued to dodge senbon and yet get struck by senbon. Then he looked at the senbon that had been thrown, and he saw something round attached to their back ends. "Bells. So that's how she's doing it."

"What are you looking so happy about?" Kin taunted.

"I know how you're doing it," Shikamaru answered. "Your genjutsu comes from the bells attached to your senbon. When you throw them, the bells make a sound with a hidden frequency that confuses your opponent's senses . . . allowing either the senbon to get through, or for you to use that attack as a diversion from another."

"So you figured it out," Kin retorted. "So what? You're still gonna lose here."

"I don't think so," Shikamaru answered.

"And what makes you say that?" Kin asked.

"Look down," Shikamaru replied.

Kin looked down and noticed that her shadow and Shikamaru's were connected through a black line. "How . . . ?"

"Witty banter's good for keeping your opponents off-track," Shikamaru answered. "This is my Shadow Bind Technique, and it's also good for another technique . . . Shadow Imitation." As he talked, he pulled out a kunai, and Kin's body unwillingly echoed that motion, pulling out a kunai of her own. Shikamaru positioned himself in a throwing pose, and so did Kin's body.

"What are you . . . Do you want to die or something?" Kin asked.

"No," Shikamaru replied as he and Kin's body threw their kunai at the same time. Shikamaru doubled over backward to dodge and so did Kin's body . . . only for her head to hit the wall behind her. With Kin successfully knocked out, Shikamaru released Kin from her Shadow Bind.

"Winner, Shikamaru Nara," Hayate announced.

Shikamaru returned to the balcony while medical ninja took Kin away to attend to her condition. "Great work, Shikamaru," his jonin-sensei Asuma complimented.

"Too much of a drag," Shikamaru answered.

Gaara looked at Shikamaru appraisingly. "As much as you complain about everything being a drag, I get the feeling about half of that's just a put-on to keep the more easily led from thinking you too much of a threat."

"Not really," Shikamaru amended. "Asuma-sensei put his faith in me. It's that simple."

* * *

The screen flickered again and revealed two more names: _Kankuro Sabakumo vs. Renge Nitokawa._ Hayate coughed briefly before calling out, "Will Kankuro Sabakumo and Renge Nitokawa step into the arena?"

Kankuro walked into the arena, while Renge did a swan dive off the balcony rim and flipped to land on her feet. "Not bad," Kankuro remarked. "You got pretty underwear, too."

Renge narrowed her eyes at him. "Pervert. Did I say you were allowed to look at my underwear?"

"You mean if the circumstances were right, you would have let me look?" Kankuro teased.

Renge drew her sword hilts. "Let's do this."

"What are you going to do with a pair of sword hilts?" Kankuro asked. "Don't you need actual blades?"

"I _make_ my own blades," Renge answered.

"Ready? Begin," Hayate called.

"Beast-Fist Fierce Art: Seven-Tails Twin Sword Style," Renge called, channeling the chakra of the Seven-Tailed Isonade into her sword hilts, which both sprouted water-chakra longsword blades.

"Wow!" Sakura exclaimed. "That's pretty cool."

"Just some flashy ninjutsu," Sasuke grumbled. "That's all these Beast ninja can do."

"Speaking of flashy ninjutsu, what were those techniques you used to defeat Haku?" Kakashi asked. "I don't recall teaching you how to manipulate fire-element chakra like that."

"It's something I discovered in the old Uchiha clan scrolls," Sasuke replied. "I've been reading those to learn new ways to use my fire affinity."

_Lying through his damned teeth,_ Naruto snarled internally. Almost nobody saw it, but his eyes once again flashed a bloody slit-pupil red. Sasuke saw, though, and flashed his own Sharingan at Naruto, causing something inside of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to recoil. That something turned out to be the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox himself.

_**Those eyes . . . that chakra . . .**_ the Fox snarled. _**Even with Dai Shi's power mixed in, I still recognize it . . . a chakra even more accursed than that bastard Madara Uchiha's . . .**_

_I'm sorry. Am I supposed to know that name?_ Naruto asked.

_**Before your time, brat,**_ the Fox answered. _**Long before your time. All you need to know is that he is the founder of the Uchiha clan, one of the founding clans of that damnable village that dared treat you with such disrespect.**_

_Something tells me you didn't just recognize Sasuke's chakra because it belonged to an Uchiha. What are you not telling me?_

_**Would it make any bit of difference if you knew . . . the nature of my hatred for the Uchiha?**_

_If it has anything to do with why Dai Shi picked Sasuke as his host and why Sasuke flashing Sharingan can make you quiver like a frightened kitten . . ._

_**Brat, don't start! The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox quivers before no one, not even a "mighty" Uchiha!**_

_Ok, ok. Christ, you've got an easily bruised ego._

_**I don't have an ego. I have a healthy self-respect.**_

_Whatever. You're a drag sometimes._

_**You're starting to sound like that shadow user.**_

Just then, Naruto was brought back to reality by the sound of Renge seemingly slicing Kankuro into multiple pieces with her Isonade Swords. Of course, it turned out that the "Kankuro" Renge had cut up was actually his puppet Raven transformed to resemble Kankuro. Then it turned out that puppet was just a replica created through a Clone Technique . . . and the real Raven was attacking Renge with its blades, only for Renge to block with her own blades.

"You got a real vicious streak there," Kankuro remarked while controlling Raven with chakra strings. "But that's fine. I like vicious girls."

"I've seen your sister in action, so I believe you," Renge retorted.

"Come on, Kankuro, take her out!" Matsuri shouted.

"That's my plan, but let me have some fun first," Kankuro answered.

"Fun, huh?" Renge remarked as she blocked Raven's blades with her Isonade Swords. "Let's see how you like this." She began to move as though she were dancing to a beat that no one else could hear, and her maneuvers allowed her to dodge Raven's attacks with almost mocking ease.

"What is she doing?" Temari asked.

"That's her Nitakito no Mai," Gaara replied, "the Dance of the Twin Waterfall Swords. When she moves like that, she's nearly untouchable . . . and extremely precise in her strikes. If Kankuro does not change his strategy quickly, he's doomed."

"Kankuro will beat her," Matsuri insisted. "You'll see."

Despite Matsuri's confidence in Kankuro, it seemed to be the other way around, actually, with Renge alternately dodging and cutting off Raven's blades. "How are you doing this?" Kankuro asked.

"Let's just say I'm not the only kenjutsu practitioner who incorporates water-element chakra into their moves," Renge answered as she cut apart Raven piece by piece. "You think _I'm_ good? I was taught by someone even better." She accented that with a final barrage of hyper-speed slashes that utterly decimated Kankuro's puppet.

"What the hell?!" Kankuro exclaimed. "How did you do that?"

"Nito no Gekisou no Mai," Renge replied, "Dance of the Twin Swords' Violent Dash."

"Well . . . you probably think you've won . . . but you really haven't," Kankuro retorted.

"What makes you say that?" Renge asked.

"When you destroyed Raven, its remains emitted an invisible, odorless nerve gas," Kankuro explained. "Since you were so close when you were cutting it up, you inhaled a lot of that gas. Right now, it's attacking your nervous system, slowly shutting down your voluntary responses. Within minutes, you'll experience stiffness in your right side, particularly your arm and leg and jaw. It'll spread to your left side, and then you won't even be able to stand on your own. With it going to your head, you won't be able to nod or shake or turn it on your own. You won't be able to speak or eat, either, thanks to what it'll do to your jaw. Eventually, you won't be able to open or close your eyes voluntarily. You'll be a prisoner in your own body, unable to speak, move, or even twitch."

"What kind of sick bastard are you?!" Karasu asked, utterly outraged and horrified by the trap Kankuro had set for Renge.

"The kind who doesn't let his enemies walk away unscathed," Kankuro retorted unrepentantly. "Hey, kid, this is the kind of unpleasantness you have to look forward to as a shinobi. If you don't like it, quit."

"You son of a –" Karasu cut himself off, his raven spirit engulfing him and forming into one birdlike wing made of black chakra. He was about to attack Kankuro, when Kirabi grabbed him by the arm and held him back, also neutralizing his raven spirit with the power of his Eight-Tailed Ushi-Oni. "Let go! He's gonna kill her!"

Hayate briefly coughed. "Winner, Renge Nitokawa."

"How come she's the winner?!" Matsuri asked.

Hayate calmly looked at her and answered, "Because Kankuro cannot fight any longer, even with the trap he sprung for her. Hence, Renge wins by default." He looked at Renge. "I would recommend, though, that you see a medic immediately, before the nerve gas starts to take effect on you."

"Sure," Renge answered, allowing herself into the custody of Konoha's medical ninja.

* * *

Kankuro returned to the balcony, where Karasu had to be restrained from going over and punching him out. "Sorry about your girlfriend, kid. But if she hurries, she might just get off with only having to stay in bed for a week."

"Bastard!" Karasu snarled, his rage so great that he nearly broke free of Naruto and Gaara just to attack Kankuro.

Baki, the Sand jonin-sensei with claw-like red tattoos on the side of his face that wasn't covered by a sheet hanging from his headband, stared at R.J. and Kirabi. "I would suggest you teach your student how to rein in his temper. Or else things could get ugly here."

"Tactics like that are most unworthy of an honorable shinobi," Guy remarked.

"I'm with him," R.J. agreed. "Can't win in a fair fight, so you resort to covertly poisoning your enemies? Clever, but low."

"Clever but low happens to be how we survive in this business," Baki answered. "You're old enough to know better, but then again I've heard that Daijugakure is full of bleeding hearts who believe in pie-in-the-sky concepts like fighting for justice."

"If Daijugakure is a bunch of bleeding hearts, then that's something they share with Konoha," Kakashi cut in. "We too believe in something like justice. We call it the Will of Fire."

Sasuke bit his tongue to repress a scoff. They were fools, Leaf and Beast alike; being a ninja wasn't about silly concepts like honor and justice. It was about power, the power to take what one wanted and the power to destroy all that stood in one's way. Those without power were nothing, nothing but prey . . . and Sasuke Uchiha would never be prey. _Never._

Just then, the screen flashed again, and this time it showed two more names: _Naruto Uzumaki_ vs. _Kiba Inuzuka._ Hayate coughed shortly before calling out, "Will Naruto Uzumaki and Kiba Inuzuka step into the arena?"

Hinata Hyuga twiddled her fingers, a huge red blush on her face. On the one hand, Kiba was her teammate and friend. On the other, Naruto was the boy she had loved and yearned for all these years, even those years when she'd thought him gone for good. She was utterly torn as to whose victory to cheer for; audible support of Naruto, not even a Leaf ninja now, would be a betrayal of Kiba's friendship. On the other hand, audible support of Kiba would feel like a betrayal of her heart.

Just then, a comforting hand landed on her shoulder. "It'll be all right, Hinata," Yugito whispered. "No one's going to hold it against you, whoever you cheer for."

"Thank you . . . Yugito-san," Hinata whispered.

Just then, Naruto and Kiba stepped into the arena, facing each other from opposite ends. "Hope you're ready to get your ass kicked, kid," Kiba taunted, "because you're going to see how a real beast fights."

Naruto just smiled. "So will you."

* * *

End Notes: There you have it, the end of the fifth chapter of Strike Rangers. Karasu is thirsting for vengeance against Kankuro for Renge, and Naruto wants Sasuke's blood for Haku. By the time the Chunin Exams are over, will either or both Beast ninja find other viable targets of their vengeance? And just what is the deal between Kyubi and the Uchiha, and what might it have to do with Dai Shi? For the answers to those questions and others, read on and thank you for getting this far.


	6. Dog's Fang, Fox's Tail

"Bijuken Sentai Retsuranger"

"Tailed Beast-Fist Squadron Strike Rangers"

Chapter 6: "Dog's Fang, Fox's Tail"

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, Viz, and Shonen Jump. Power Rangers belongs to Disney and formerly Saban Entertainment. Super Sentai belongs to Toei. I only own the plot of this story, and even that was given to me by someone else. (Thanks, Reaper INI.)

Author's note: Yeah, things are starting to heat up, aren't they? It's Naruto's turn at bat now, and his opponent is Kiba Inuzuka. Just how will Naruto fare against Kiba, and can his Fox-Spirit Beast-Fist stand against Kiba's style? How will the other Strike Rangers stand against their opponents, and how will their true enemy reveal himself? And what about Orochimaru? For the answers to those questions and others, read on.

* * *

Naruto Uzumaki and Kiba Inuzuka moved to the arena, facing each other on opposite sides. "How's about we have ourselves a good fight?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, it'll be good, all right," Kiba retorted. "I'll wipe the floor with your ass."

Naruto smirked. "We'll see who wipes the floor with whose ass."

"Begin!" Hayate called out before moving out of the way.

On Kiba's head, Akamaru barked loudly. Naruto tilted his head in confusion. "Did he just say he was gonna kick my ass?" Naruto asked.

"Something like that," Kiba replied snidely.

Naruto shifted into a fighting stance. "Bring it."

"Sure, but first . . ." Kiba popped a pill into Akamaru's mouth, which Akamaru swallowed. "Beast Human Clone!"

Immediately, Kiba shifted into a feral crouch and Akamaru transformed into an animalistic replica of Kiba. Naruto looked at the two in shock. "Damn . . . why'd you make him as ugly as you?!"

Kiba snarled. "You're gonna pay for that!" He and Akamaru charged at Naruto with incredible speed, speed that Naruto was honestly ill-prepared for. The duo surrounded Naruto, clawing and slashing at him with inhuman speed and strength.

"Ah, crap!" Naruto yelled. "What the hell?!"

"Ah, good old Four Legs Technique," R.J. remarked from the balcony. "Among the proud ranks of Inuzuka clan taijutsu. It operates on somewhat similar principles to Beast-Fist, only using an actual animal to fight alongside you instead of an animal spirit synchronizing with a human body."

"Come on, Naruto," Yugito snapped. "It's no different than fighting R.J.-sensei!"

Naruto skidded back from Kiba and Akamaru. "She's right," he muttered to himself. "Dogs and wolves are both canines, but one's domesticated and the other . . . isn't." He chuckled sardonically. "Hey, Kiba! Do you know that dogs are just watered-down, domesticated wolves?!"

Well, it was actually somewhat more complex than that, but the goal wasn't scientific accuracy. The goal was getting under Kiba's skin just enough to throw him off-balance. The goal was achieved, as Kiba snarled to Akamaru, "Let's show him what 'domesticated' and 'watered-down' really mean."

Akamaru snarled back in response and both he and Kiba charged Naruto again. This time, they launched themselves at him while spinning like high-speed drills. Once they got within striking range, they tore into Naruto, slashing and swiping and clawing at him until they threw him aside, bleeding.

"You're not so tough, after all," Kiba remarked. "Are you? _Are you?!_"

Hinata looked at the scene in horror. Kiba was her teammate and friend, but Naruto was . . . Naruto was . . . What was Naruto to her? An idol just out of reach? A faint ideal? A childish crush? An object of near-fanatical obsession? The boy she . . . she . . .

"Naruto . . ." she murmured. "Naruto . . . Naruto . . ."

Kurenai and R.J. looked at Hinata's troubled but increasingly resolute face with interest. "Hmm?"

"Naruto . . ." Hinata exclaimed. "Get . . . up . . . get up . . . GET UP!"

Hearing Hinata shout for him to get up snapped Naruto fully awake, as he sprang to his feet. "Sorry, Kiba. But it's been my mistake, holding back on you like this. Had to get a feel for your style. You fight a lot like R.J.-sensei, speed and strength and animal ferocity in one package. But . . ." Naruto smirked. "He didn't need a copycat partner to help him fight me."

"Yap, yap, yap," Kiba sneered. "Is that the only way you can fight me?"

"No," Naruto retorted. "It's just fun getting under your skin. Now come on . . . both of you."

"You asked for it!" Kiba shouted, as he and Akamaru launched into another Dual Piercing Fang attack. This time, Naruto calmly waited for them to get close enough for him to strike, and then he broke out into a series of fast dance moves that ended in punches and kicks to both Kiba and Akamaru while directing him away from their assaults.

"What kind of fighting style is that?" Kakashi asked.

"Fox-Spirit Beast-Fist," R.J. replied. "Its main strengths are speed, misdirection, and unpredictability. Hence why it looks like a dance."

"Sounds mighty impressive," Guy remarked. "Now I want to see how he fares against Lee or Neji even more."

Naruto grabbed Kiba by the wrist and flipped him overhead, while whirling into a kick to Akamaru that brought him down. "How do you like me now?"

"Bastard!" Kiba snarled, launching into a solo Piercing Fang, the final strikes of which Naruto blocked and deflected with incredible speed and skill until he seemed to get bored and threw him back to Akamaru. Akamaru looked at Kiba and then they both turned to Naruto, growling at the Fox-Fist user. They moved to attack him again, zipping around him to deliver quick strikes and then dodge out of Naruto's way before Naruto could retaliate. "Hope your fancy dance moves can save you now!"

"Actually, they can," Naruto retorted, twisting his hips while on the ground to launch himself into a series of whirling kicks to both Kiba and Akamaru, knocking the duo against the walls.

"He's got moves . . ." Sakura remarked.

"Yeah, who knew dancing could also be a fighting style?" Ino agreed.

Sasuke scoffed, muttering, "Whatever."

"Now, Sasuke, don't tell me you're jealous," Kakashi remarked.

"I'm not," Sasuke answered coldly. "He's just nothing special."

"Don't tell me that's all you've got!" Naruto shouted. "Weren't you the guy talking trash about how he was gonna kick my ass?"

Kiba and Akamaru rose to their feet from opposite sides of Naruto, moving to attack him on all sides at high speed. Naruto merely broke out into a series of quick strikes with his elbows, feet, fists, and knees that came off as dance moves at first. Managing to strike them both down, Naruto pulled out a smoke bomb and threw it to the ground, the bomb exploding on impact and spreading a crimson miasma.

"You think that's going to be enough to save your ass, punk?!" Kiba yelled, charging right into the miasma, running for where he'd last seen Naruto. Immediately, he was punched by someone, and he punched back, knocking that someone to the ground. "Yeah, nice try, Fishcake!" Of course, when the smoke cleared . . . he saw _two_ animalistic replicas of himself instead of just one. "Come on, this isn't funny, punk! You think I can't tell which one you are?!"

He punched one of his replicas, and he almost gloated in triumph . . . only for that self-satisfied expression to melt into horror when the Kiba replica he'd struck turned into Akamaru's natural form. "What the hell?!" He whirled upon the other Kiba replica, whom he figured to be Naruto. "You bastard!" He punched that other Kiba replica, only for him to turn into Akamaru's natural form as well . . . and for the "Akamaru" he'd punched to turn into Naruto. "What kind of game is this?"

"The smoke was just to confuse your senses," Naruto answered. "Not only your physical senses, but also how your mind interpreted them. Basically, I just mind-screwed you into knocking out your partner . . . Sorry."

"_Son of a bitch!_" Kiba yelled, charging Naruto for the kill. With a few more dance-styled moves ending in kicks and punches, Naruto brought Kiba down.

"Is that enough for you?" Naruto asked. "Or do I have to hit you a little harder before you get it?"

Hayate looked at the tableau before him. "Since Kiba cannot fight any longer without risking permanent injury or death . . . the winner is, Naruto Uzumaki."

"A gas that disrupts the senses and reasoning ability of the target?" Kurenai uttered. "It's like genjutsu, almost. But since it isn't, how is Naruto able to not suffer the same effects as Kiba?"

"Because Naruto built up a resistance while learning how to use it," R.J. replied. "He had to, or otherwise he'd be risking his own sanity every time he used it."

* * *

Naruto and Kiba both returned to the balcony, glaring at each other. "You're one sick puppy, kid," Kiba said to Naruto.

"You're one to talk," Naruto retorted.

Hinata blushed as she looked back from Kiba to Naruto and vice versa. Kurenai gave her a gentle nudge, and the soft pressure gave her the courage to walk up to Naruto and give him some of her healing ointment. Naruto smiled softly at her. "Thanks, Hinata."

"So you won," Sasuke remarked. "I'm glad."

Naruto smiled coldly at Sasuke. "So am I. You won. I won. We both advance. And that means I get another chance at fighting you."

"Your chance might come sooner than you think," Sasuke answered.

The screen flashed again . . . and showed two names, _Sakura Haruno_ vs. _Ino Yamanaka._ Hayate called for them both to step into the arena, which they did, glaring at each other as though they were one step away from killing one another. This caused Naruto to look at the other genin and their jonin-sensei with some modicum of concern. "What's up with those two?"

"Bad blood," Asuma replied. "Over a boy." He shot a glare at Sasuke, who looked as though he could care less.

"Him?" Naruto deduced.

"Yeah," Shikamaru confirmed. "Rookie of the year, brooding bad boy, a girl's dream come true." He snorted. "And they wonder why I don't date."

"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Yugito spat.

"Have to say I'm with you there, Yugito-chan," Naruto agreed. "But let's see how they actually do."

It wasn't exactly worth talking about, Sakura and Ino's fight. Mostly what they did was try to evade each other's strikes, and when they struck, they left so many openings that even a shinobi of average taijutsu skill could thrash them. It was quite . . . shameful, and Naruto could tell Yugito felt like getting into a fight with either girl just to show them how it was done.

Yugito whirled upon Kakashi and Asuma. "Have you two taught them nothing about close-quarters fighting?"

Kakashi sighed. "We can't all be insane Beast-Fist warriors."

"True," Yugito conceded, "but this is just sad. I wouldn't count on either of them lasting a day on a solo mission."

There were some positives to the match. Despite Sakura's and Ino's lack of technical skill, Sakura was decent at trickery with genjutsu and standard clone techniques. Ino was also rather decent with her clan's mind-warping techniques, using them to temporarily usurp control of Sakura's body after luring her into a trap using her discarded hair. Of course, Sakura's mind was far stronger than Ino had given her credit for, and she managed to shake off Ino's possession.

When the fight ultimately ended, it did so with what was almost a double knockout, except Sakura stayed on her feet seconds after Ino had fallen. Of course, Sakura ultimately collapsed herself, although with Ino having fallen before her . . . "Winner: Sakura Haruno," Hayate called.

Matsuri scoffed. "Is this what your kunoichi are capable of? If so, Konoha's a joke."

"Watch your tongue," Guy warned.

"As pathetic as their kunoichi are, we have no need to antagonize anybody," Temari remarked, placing a hand on Matsuri's shoulder. "Of course, if their kunoichi were anything worth talking about . . . they wouldn't be so offended, now would they?"

"Look at it this way," Naruto suggested. "They're not completely hopeless, even if their taijutsu isn't that good. Takes some modicum of skill to use some of those techniques."

"Maybe you're right," Yugito conceded. "But they still suck at actual fighting."

"Gaara? Karasu? What do you guys think?" Naruto asked.

"There is room for improvement," Gaara replied stoically.

"Whatever," Karasu responded. "Not my issue."

* * *

After Sakura and Ino had been moved out of the arena, the screen flashed again, revealing two new names: _Shino Aburame_ vs. _Zaku._ Hayate coughed once before calling for Shino and Zaku to enter the arena, which they did, moving to opposite sides. Zaku's arms hung limply against his sides, still suffering from their dislocation at Sasuke's hands.

"Begin!" Hayate shouted.

Shino looked at Zaku through his sunglasses and said only one word. "Forfeit."

"Why the hell should I?" Zaku asked.

"You came into this fight injured," Shino answered. "I'm simply warning you for your own good. Forfeit."

Zaku flexed his fingers and slowly raised his arms. "You really think I'm going to listen to you?"

Shino's face barely twitched. "I felt it would be polite to warn you first."

"Well, don't waste time with that bull!" Zaku yelled, lifting both arms. "I'm going to end you in one hit!"

Shino just stared ahead, seemingly completely uncaring of his fate at Zaku's hands. "You're a fool."

"Slicing Sound Wave!" Zaku shouted . . . and to his surprise, his arms exploded into bloody stumps. "What . . . _what the hell?!_"

As insects of various sizes and species began to crawl out of the bloody mess left behind by Zaku's exploded arms, Gaara realized what had just happened. "Shino clogged Zaku's vents with insects."

"Damn . . ." Naruto muttered. "That's brutal."

"Winner: Shino Aburame," Hayate called.

Shino stoically returned to the balcony, saying only, "I warned him."

"So you did," Karasu remarked.

* * *

The screen flashed again, and this time it showed the names _Karasu Kuronin_ vs. _Sai Tenma._ Hayate coughed, and then called for Karasu and Sai to enter the arena, which they did in their own ways. Sai performed a simple Body Flicker, while Karasu sprouted a black energy wing and glided into the arena.

"Some flashy moves aren't going to help you," Sai stated. "Girly boy."

Karasu rolled his eyes. "Is that the only way you can interact with people? Insult them?"

"I don't much care for the company of others," Sai replied, withdrawing something that looked like a cross between a quill pen and a dagger.

"Interesting weapon," Karasu remarked.

Sai stabbed the point of the quill-blade into his hand, withdrawing it once the tip was saturated in his blood. Immediately, he began to scribble into the air with the quill-blade, "drawing" the image of a tiger that became substantial in a rather cartoonish way once he'd finished. Immediately, the blood-formed tiger charged at Karasu with incredible speed. In response, Karasu re-formed his spectral wing and flew out of the way of the Blood Beast, which turned around in preparation to attack him again.

This time, Karasu summoned his second wing and wrapped them both around his body, spinning like a drill as he descended upon the Blood Beast, causing it to explode in a shower of crimson upon contact. Karasu's spectral wings unfurled, revealing him standing in the middle of the blood spray.

"What did he just do?" Choji asked.

"That's Raven-Spirit Beast-Fist," Yugito answered. "Harnessing the spirit of the raven for an incredibly maneuverable fighting style. That move you just saw? _Rekkishire Tsubasa Kyaku,_ the Violent Grinding Wing Kick. I don't think I need to explain what it does."

"Not bad," Sai commented. "I think it's time I tried something else, though." He dipped the quill tip into his hand again and scribbled furiously into the air, trails of red energy following his quill tip. When it stopped, arrows made of red energy pointed at Karasu. "Blood Arrow Barrage."

Immediately, the arrows flew at Karasu with such speed that Karasu was unable to dodge all of them. Most of the arrows that hit him merely grazed him, but they were sharp enough that even that hurt a great deal. When the attack was over, Karasu was bleeding from multiple small cuts all over his body. "You're not so bad yourself," the Raven-Spirit wielder snarled.

"I'm glad you acknowledge your better, girly boy," Sai taunted.

"You . . . are not my better," Karasu snarled. He started running at Sai, wisps of black energy seeping out of his wounds. The black energy collected around him in the shape of a raven, which launched him into the air and brought him down in a flying kick to Sai's chest. Unsatisfied with this, Karasu twisted and maneuvered himself into an uppercut that caught Sai in the chin. Still not done yet, Karasu landed with a brutal elbow slam to Sai's stomach.

Karasu got up and began walking away from Sai, who had managed to get up and was now lashing at the air with his quill tip in a pattern of organized chaos. This time, he'd drawn a multitude of kunai . . . all pointing at Karasu's back. "Not a wise idea to look away from me," he taunted the Raven-Spirit user. "Blood Kunai Barrage."

This time, Karasu wrapped himself in his raven spirit's wings, using them as a shield to deflect the blood-formed kunai. Once the barrage had stopped, Karasu unfurled his raven spirit's wings and flew at Sai like a missile, tackling him. Of course, Sai had managed to hold on to his quill and was now using its blade to slash at Karasu, although Karasu managed to dodge most of Sai's attacks. The one that got through, though, left a long gash in Karasu's chest.

"I suppose it's time I finished this," Karasu murmured. "Otherwise, you'll kill me. I should warn you, though; you're not the only one who can power their techniques with blood." Calling forth his raven spirit through his blood, he channeled it into his arms, forming talons over his fingers. Immediately, he launched himself into the air and came down slashing Sai with his newly formed spirit talons. With a finishing swipe of his talons, Karasu brought Sai down . . . and Sai didn't look like he'd be getting up any time soon.

"Winner: Karasu Kuronin," Hayate called.

Both Karasu and Sai were escorted out of the arena by medical ninja, due to the wounds both had sustained in their fight. "Wow . . . you guys play rough," Matsuri remarked to the Beast genin.

"For keeps," Gaara added.

"I wonder who's next," Yugito mused aloud.

* * *

Just then, the screen gave a clear indication of who was next . . . by flashing two names, _Hinata Hyuga_ vs. _Neji Hyuga._ Hayate coughed briefly before calling for both Hyuga clan members to step into the arena. Just before Hinata could go, Shino clapped his hand on her shoulder. "Be careful, Hinata. Forfeit if you must."

"Thank you, Shino, but I . . . I cannot forfeit," Hinata replied. "Not in front of . . ."

Shino sighed, resigned to what he was certain would happen next. "I understand."

Hinata and Neji moved to the arena, facing each other on opposite sides. Neji's pearl-colored eyes narrowed as he stared into Hinata's identically-colored eyes. "Forfeit. It's your fate to lose. Why not spare yourself a lot of pain right now?"

"I . . . cannot forfeit," Hinata answered. "I . . . will not forfeit."

"You're a pampered child of the main house of the Hyuga clan," Neji sneered. "What the hell do you know about what it takes to be a shinobi?"

"Why's he talking to her like that?" Naruto asked indignantly. "Aren't they supposed to be brother and sister?"

"Close, but no cigar," Kakashi replied. "They're actually cousins, but since their fathers were identical twins . . . they do share a close enough DNA relation to be siblings."

"Not the point," Naruto snapped. "I wanna know why he's talking trash to her!"

"You seem awfully mad," Kakashi remarked. "Something you wanna share with us?"

Naruto looked Kakashi dead in the eye. "I remember now. Why she was so worried about me. Why she wanted so desperately to help me. She was the only one . . . who wouldn't look at me with hate in her eyes. She was the only one in this village . . . who was ever kind at all to me. That is why I cannot watch her suffer at this bastard's hands."

"You are aware you're not allowed to interfere in the match," R.J. said. "You do that, you forfeit your own chance to move to the next round."

"I don't care," Naruto spat. "That's not what we're here for, and you know it." He turned back to the arena. "Hinata! Don't you dare let him psych you into giving up! You might think you're alone down there, but you've got a rooting section up here!"

Neji glared at Naruto. "Quiet, you."

Hinata's face flushed a rosy red. _He . . . believes in me?_

Naruto smiled cheekily at Hinata, flashing a thumbs-up to her. "Go for it. Teach him not to underestimate you!"

Neji snarled. "You think your stupid encouragement's going to do anything to change the outcome of this fight?!"

"Begin," Hayate declared.

Hinata slowly began to smile, resoluteness in her eyes as the veins surrounding them bulged and clear pupils formed in their centers. "Defend yourself . . . my brother."

Neji glared at Hinata, the veins around his own eyes bulging and clear pupils becoming visible in their centers. "I should say the same to you."

The two Hyuga clan members began to fight, lashing out at each other with vicious thrusts of their index and middle fingers at pressure points in each other's bodies. Both moved at incredible speed as they parried and deflected each other's assaults, determination visible on Hinata's face, much to the surprise of her sensei Kurenai Yuhi. "Wow . . . Hinata . . ."

"Amazed?" Kakashi asked. "So am I."

Kurenai smiled slightly. _Naruto Uzumaki, you just became a lot more interesting._

"What are they doing?" Sakura asked, having returned to the balcony.

"It is their fighting style . . ." Lee replied. "The Hyuga clan taijutsu, Gentle Fist. With the slightest touch, they can forcibly shut off the chakra-generating points in someone's body, which their bloodline limit the Byakugan enables them to see. The style requires incredible dexterity and precision, something that the Hyuga clan members are taught from a very young age."

"Why is there so much hate in his heart when he speaks to Hinata?" Gaara asked.

"It is the sad story of their clan," Lee explained. "The Hyuga are divided into the main house and several branch houses. The members of the branch houses are bound in servitude to the members of the main house. Hinata is from the main house. Neji is from a branch house."

"So Neji's side of the family is enslaved to Hinata's side of the family?" Naruto deduced. "That's just wrong!"

"It is clan tradition," Guy spoke. "It is not a tradition I think is just or fair, but it is their tradition and outsiders are barred from interfering by the village rules."

"What about the Hokage?" Naruto asked. "Can't he do something?"

Guy sighed. "If he could . . . he would."

Naruto growled. "So they're gonna be at each other's throats . . . forever? And there's nothing anybody can do?"

"Basically," Kakashi replied somberly.

Naruto was about to retort, when he heard a wet coughing sound. He turned, and saw blood leaking from Hinata's mouth with a small puddle of it on the floor before her. "Hinata!"

"One more thing, Naruto . . . the chakra-generating points in the body are connected to the body's vital organs," Lee said. "A sufficiently forceful strike can not only cut off chakra, but also damage those organs."

"What is he trying to do, kill her?" Naruto asked.

"Give up," Neji spat at Hinata. "It's been your fate to lose to me ever since you stepped into this arena. You were never strong enough to be a shinobi. That just wasn't your fate."

"Fate . . . fate . . . you are terribly obsessed with fate for someone who seems resigned to his . . ." Hinata whispered in between gasps for breath.

"What are you talking about?" Neji asked.

"I'm talking about . . . that you and I are the same," Hinata whispered. "I am struggling not to be as weak . . . as I have been. And you are struggling . . . to be more than what the clan has decided you are to be. Don't you see, Neji? We're the same."

"I . . . am _nothing_ . . . _like you!_" Neji screamed, charging Hinata for a finishing blow that might very well kill her.

"NO!" Naruto screamed, lunging off the balcony, fiery red chakra surrounding him. He lashed out with the chakra, forming a chain-whip that grabbed Neji's striking arm just before he could crush Hinata's windpipe.

"Stay out of this!" Neji snapped.

"I'm not letting you kill Hinata," Naruto retorted, his voice full of deadly calm. "I don't care what your family grudges are. You have no right to take it out on someone who hasn't done anything to you."

"Don't dare to presume to tell me what my rights are," Neji snarled.

"Naruto, get out of there now!" R.J. shouted.

"You've already won, Neji," Hayate said. "Hinata cannot continue without risking lifetime injury, if not the end of her lifetime entirely."

"I. Don't. Care," Neji answered coldly, and in a surprising burst of strength, he broke free of Naruto's chakra chain and went for the killing strike. This time, Kakashi, Kurenai, Guy, and Asuma stopped his charge, restraining him forcibly, much to Neji's ire. "Special protection for the main branch?"

"No," Kurenai answered. "Stopping you from killing a fellow Konoha shinobi."

Just then, Hinata's legs gave out . . . and she collapsed, prompting the medic-nin to show up immediately. They unzipped her heavy jacket, revealing a dark halter top with mesh filling out the parts where skin would have shown. The medical ninja began working on her immediately, enabling her to recover just enough to look at Naruto.

"Naru . . . to . . . did I . . . did I . . ."

Naruto was at her side in a flash. "It's ok, Hinata. You did your best. You stood strong and you gave it your all."

"Excuse me, young man, but we need to get her out of here if she's going to be able to recover," one of the medic-nin advised him.

"Sure . . ." Naruto answered, reluctantly allowing the medic-nin to carry Hinata away on a stretcher.

"Nice try," Neji taunted Naruto, having been let go by the Konoha jonin. "All your encouragement really amounted to was Hinata being crushed worse than she would have been had she just listened to me. You can't change your fate. Nobody can. Failures will always be failures."

Naruto's eyes flashed a vicious red and he turned to Neji. "You son of a bitch!" He charged at Neji, intent on beating him to the ground . . . when tentacles of sand forcibly restrained Naruto. "Gaara! Let me go!"

"I cannot, Naruto," Gaara answered. "If you fight him now, while you're so full of rage, the monster within you will win. That is why we have trained in the Beast-Fist Fierce Style, to control the monsters that dwell within us, to counter the evil that they would unleash upon this world if freed. As you are now, the just heart that the Fierce Style requires is being overwhelmed by your wrath."

"He . . . he was going to _kill_ her!"

"And so you'll make it right by killing him?" R.J. asked calmly. "Naruto . . . I understand your anger. Someone you cared about could have died because of the actions of a reckless and hate-filled individual. But if you give in to your own anger, your own hate for this man that harmed the one dear to your heart . . . you will become no better than he is."

Naruto's posture began to relax, and Gaara released the sand tentacles. Naruto then kneeled before the small puddle of blood that Hinata had coughed up, and dipped his fingers in it. With his other hand, he opened his jacket and shirt and drew the symbol of the Hidden Beast Village over his chest. "Rest assured, Neji Hyuga. I'm not forgetting this. We'll face each other again . . . and when we do, I'll make sure you pay for what you did to Hinata. I swear on my life, on the power of the Beast-Fist, and on Hinata's blood!"

* * *

End Notes: This is probably a good point on which to end this chapter. You've seen a taste of Karasu's real powers, what Naruto can do with the power of the Beast-Fist at his beck and call, and just what happens when family feuds cross paths with justice. If you're wondering why Sakura won her match with Ino here, while it was a double knockout in canon, it's simple: I have plans for her. For those of you complaining about Sakura being a useless fangirl, she is that as of _right now,_ but Shippuden showed us that she didn't stay that way and I want to do my take on Sakura's induction into "The Halls of Badass Ninja."

In the meantime, this story is far from over; you're going to see Yugito vs. Matsuri, Gaara vs. Lee, and Dosu vs. Choji. After that, I'll be using the one-month pause in the Chunin Exams to set up further plot developments, like Sakura's training, Naruto meeting Jiraiya, and . . . Sasuke revealing his true nature as Dai Shi's vessel to all of Konoha. Considering that the finals of the Chunin Exams attract all kinds of people, you might even be seeing a few familiar faces from the Power Rangers/Super Sentai canon. Heh, and with that little tease, I'm off. See you around.


End file.
